Swella Braverman at the First National Conference on Conservatism in London. Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images Europe
An unchecked drive towards multiculturalism without successful integration is a recipe for disaster, the home secretary warned on Monday.
Swella Braverman insisted that immigrants “accept and respected” British values and actively participated in their new communities.
>Speaking at the first National Conference on Conservatism in London, Ms Braverman told the story of her parents’ arrival in the UK from Kenya and Mauritius, respectively.
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“Integration was a quid pro quo,” she said. “This did not mean eradicating one's own heritage, but it did mean embracing British identity.
"My parents came here as a result of legal and controlled migration. They spoke the language. They threw themselves into society. They embraced British values.
“As another of your distinguished guests, Douglas Murray, eloquently said, British identity is not just interchangeable with liberal values.
“Britishness is so much more, some of it is unquantifiable, but it all needs to be celebrated and cherished. The ill-advised pursuit of multiculturalism as an end in itself, coupled with identity politics, is a recipe for social disaster.”
She emphasized the importance of all immigrants learning to speak English, as well as adapting to the broader “norms and mores” in society.
“First of all, they can't just come in and say, 'Now I live here, you have to take care of me.'
Brexit
Ms Braverman said that she and her fellow conservatives are skeptical of experts and “self-proclaimed gurus”, arguing that their assessment of what is best for the country is often at odds with public opinion.
“Those predictors of doom who said that Brexit would be an economic disaster for the UK, not only were they wrong, but they showed the profound ignorance of the British people when they explained their legitimate desire to restore our national sovereignty with some mixture of stupidity and xenophobia.”
Calling herself a proud 'Spartan' – one of the Conservative MPs who voted against Theresa May's Brexit deal three times in 2019 – she said she supported the withdrawal “because I wanted the UK to control migration.”
Ms Braverman urged the UK to train enough of its own workers, including truck drivers and fruit pickers, to reduce net migration
“Brexit allows us to build a highly skilled, high-wage economy that is less dependent on low-skilled foreign labor. That was our promise in the 2019 manifesto and what we need to deliver on.”
Calling on Rishi Sunak to keep that promise, she said, “We need to bring down the total number of immigrants. And we must not forget how to do things for ourselves.”
Party Unity
While the National Conference of Conservatism and a separate event organized by supporters of Boris Johnson over the weekend were interpreted as a blow to Mr. – on Sunaka. as Tory leader, Ms Braverman stressed the need for unity within her party.
“One of the ways that we conservatives should be different from the left is not to devour ourselves with fratricide,” she told delegates. “Market conservatism is not the enemy of national conservatism.”
Ms. Braverman argued that her party should not forget the importance of capitalism, but should not “leave” individuals and communities under the influence of market forces.< /p>
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“Conservatives should find a reasonable balance, not choose sides and start shooting.”
Police
Ms. Braverman spoke out in defense of the police during the coronation of the king, during which 64 arrests were made, including six anti-monarchist protesters from the Republic campaign group.
The Metropolitan Police later expressed “regret” about of their arrests before the event, the decision not to take any action against them.
“The nation and millions of people around the world appreciate and respect what they saw in Westminster Abbey,” said Ms Braverman.
“And I was determined that they should be able to do it. The right of the people to freely enjoy this day has surpassed any claim by reckless, selfish people that they should have the right to destroy whatever they want without real consequences.”
Political correctness
In a reproach to political correctness, Ms. Braverman doubled down on her use of the language after saying last month that grooming gang members were “almost all British-Pakistani”. a fact that has become unfashionable in some circles, as well as the fact that 100 percent of women do not have a penis.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Labor leader, said last month that “99.9 percent of women ' did not have a penis. Ms Braverman further joked: “Given his definition of a woman, we cannot rule out that he will run for the first woman's Labor Party prime ministership.” MP Miriam Cates, a gender-critical feminist, added that “radical gender ideology” “leads to mutilation and abuse of our children.”
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