Rishi Sunak faces his first Prime Minister’s Questions since a dramatic Cabinet reshuffle that saw his sacked former home secretary launch a scathing attack on his leadership.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has been given plenty of ammunition as he goes head to head with the PM on Wednesday less than 24 hours after Suella Braverman accused him of being “uncertain” and “weak” in a parting broadside.
PMQs is also set to closely follow a Supreme Court ruling on the lawfulness of the Government’s plan to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda, which is expected in the morning.
Labour could likewise come under strain on Wednesday with the SNP seeking a vote calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East amid a party split over the Opposition stance on the conflict, but this was overshadowed on Tuesday evening by an incendiary resignation letter by Mrs Braverman.
The former minister was fired following the publication of an op-ed for The Times newspaper in which she suggested the police “play favourites” with pro-Palestinian protesters.
A number of the former minister’s Cabinet colleagues last week distanced themselves from the rhetoric she used as she came under fire for stoking tensions ahead of Armistice Day demonstrations.
Downing Street had said it was “looking into” the circumstances surrounding the publication of the article, which was not cleared by No 10, and following her departure suggested there had been “issues around language” during her tenure.
A reshuffle on Monday saw Mrs Braverman ousted and former prime minister and MP David Cameron brought back as Foreign Secretary, with Mr Sunak hailing a new “strong and united team” in Government.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer set to face biggest rebellion of leadership
Mr Sunak had already been facing anger from the right of the Tory party, with Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger, who chair the New Conservatives group of MPs, expressing their continued support for him but suggesting he had abandoned issues important to red wall voters.
In a letter to the Prime Minister published later on Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter, Mrs Braverman – whose leadership ambitions are no secret – issued a rallying cry to the party’s right with a call for an “authentic conservative agenda”.
She accused Mr Sunak of using “wishful thinking as a comfort blanket” rather than coming up with a back-up plan if his Rwanda scheme is blocked by the Supreme Court judgment.
My letter to the Prime Minister pic.twitter.com/7OBzaZnxr2
— Suella Braverman MP (@SuellaBraverman) November 14, 2023
The former minister claimed she had agreed to serve as home secretary under the Prime Minister “on certain conditions”, such as introducing measures to override the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Human Rights Act (HRA) in legislation to stop small boats crossing the Channel.
“You have manifestly and repeatedly failed to deliver on every single one of these key policies,” she wrote, adding: “I must surely conclude now, you never had any intention of keeping your promises.”
In a brief response, a No 10 spokeswoman said the Prime Minister “believes in actions not words”.
READ MORE: Suella Braverman - A timeline of controversies
“He is proud that this Government has brought forward the toughest legislation to tackle illegal migration this country has seen and has subsequently reduced the number of boat crossings by a third this year. And whatever the outcome of the Supreme Court tomorrow, he will continue that work,” she said.
“The PM thanks the former home secretary for her service.”
PMQs will start at noon and could potentially be followed by votes on amendments to the King’s Speech put forward by both the SNP and Labour on the Middle East conflict.
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The SNP is calling for a ceasefire while Labour is looking to “reaffirm” its official position of supporting humanitarian pauses rather than a total cessation of hostilities, from which at least 16 shadow ministers appear to have diverged.
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