08 November 2023 , 14:43
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Suella Braverman has been slapped down by the Tories' deputy chairwoman over her "lifestyle choice" remarks on homeless people.
It comes as the hard-line Home Secretary faces a growing backlash over her proposals to impose restrictions on tents being given out to homeless people. Over the weekend, she said: "We cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice".
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live the Tories' Deputy Chair Nickie Aiken criticised the Home Secretary. She said: "Having been responsible for rough sleeping policy in Westminster when I was a city councillor, I have met scores of rough sleepers over the years and I can't recall one of them telling me it was a lifestyle choice."
She added: "The vast majority of rough sleepers on the streets - whether they are in tents or not - is because of mental health and addiction. "I would say that her language is wrong and I would say it's not about tents. It's not about the tents - lets move away from the tents and think about the people inside those tents."
Earlier this week, Natalie Eliphicke, another Tory MP, said: "In all my years of helping people who are homeless, in cities like London and Manchester as well as my own local area in Dover and Deal, at no time, has anyone said the answer lies in the removal of tents".
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Ms Braverman is understood to be fighting a behind the scenes battle with Cabinet colleagues on whether the Government goes ahead with her controversial plans on homelessness. She has also proposed introducing new penalties so that charities that give out tents can be fined. But the proposals were noticeably absent from the legislation set out at the King’s Speech.
Rishi Sunak failed to rule out restrictions on tents, but the Home Secretary is becoming increasingly isolated in Cabinet over her remarks. On Wednesday the Health Secretary Steve Barclay became the latest senior minister to distance himself from the comments. He told Sky News that ministers were working to get rough sleeping down.
He said: "There's often complex issues behind this and what we're determined to do from a health point of view is address those - is it mental health, is it addiction? What are the issues driving some of the people that are rough sleeping?" Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho and Justice Secretary Alex Chalk have also distanced themselves.
Despite rough sleeping increase under the Tories' watch, the PM said on Wednesday he is "proud of the government's track record". But he refused to be drawn on the Home Secretary's policy proposal, saying only he didn't want "anyone to be sleeping rough". Asked if he felt Ms Braverman was supporting or undermining him, the PM said: "What the Home Secretary and the Government is doing is focus on people's priorities."