Suella Braverman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Right Honourable

Suella Braverman

QC MP
Official portrait of Suella Braverman MP crop 2.jpg
Braverman in 2019
Attorney General for England and Wales
Advocate General for Northern Ireland
Assumed office
13 February 2020
On Leave: 2 March 2021 – 10 September 2021
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded bySir Geoffrey Cox
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
In office
9 January 2018 – 15 November 2018
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byKwasi Kwarteng
Member of parliament
for Fareham
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byMark Hoban
Majority26,086 (45.6%)
Personal details
Born
Sue-Ellen Cassiana Fernandes

(1980-04-03) 3 April 1980 (age 41)
Harrow, London, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)
Rael Braverman
​
(m. 2018)​
Children2
Alma mater
Websitesuellabraverman.co.uk

Sue-Ellen Cassiana "Suella" Braverman QC MP (née Fernandes; born 3 April 1980) is a British politician. She was appointed Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland in February 2020 and has been the member of parliament (MP) for Fareham since 2015.[1] A member of the Conservative Party, she chaired the European Research Group (ERG) from 19 June 2017 to 9 January 2018.

Early and personal life[]

Fernandes was born to Christie and Uma Fernandes of Indian origin,[2][3] who had emigrated to Britain in the 1960s from Kenya and Mauritius. Her mother was a nurse and a councillor in Brent[3] and her father, of Goan-ancestry in South India,[4] worked for a housing association. She was born in Harrow, Greater London, and grew up in Wembley.[5]

Fernandes attended the Uxendon Manor Primary School in Brent and the fee-paying Heathfield School, Pinner, on a partial scholarship.[5][6]

Fernandes read Law at Queens' College, Cambridge. She lived in France for two years, as an Erasmus Programme student and then as an Entente Cordiale Scholar, where she completed a master's degree in European and French Law at Pantheon-Sorbonne University.[7][8] During her undergraduate studies, she was Chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association.[9] Between 2005 and 2015, Fernandes practised as a barrister.[7]

Fernandes married Rael Braverman in February 2018 at the House of Commons.[10] Their first child, George, was born on 10 July 2019 and their second child, Gabriella, was born on 7 March 2021.[11]

Braverman is a member of the Triratna Buddhist Community (formerly known as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order) and attends the London Buddhist Centre monthly.[12]

Legal career[]

Braverman was called to the bar at Middle Temple in 2005.[13][14] She completed her pupillage at 2–3 Gray's Inn Square (now Cornerstone Barristers)[15] and then was based at No5 Chambers in London specialising in commercial litigation, judicial review, immigration and planning law.[13][16] She was appointed to the Attorney General's C Panel of Counsel in 2010.[17]

Political career[]

Conservative candidate[]

At the 2005 general election, Fernandes contested Leicester East, finishing in second place behind Labour's Keith Vaz.[18] She sought selection as the Conservative candidate in Bexhill and Battle, but was unsuccessful,[citation needed] and was eventually selected to be the Conservative candidate in Fareham.[19] Fernandes also sought election to the London Assembly at the 2012 Assembly elections, being placed fourth on the Conservative London-wide list.[20] She missed out, however, as only the first three Conservative candidates were elected.[21]

Parliamentary activity[]

Fernandes was elected to the House of Commons as the MP for Fareham in 2015 with 56.1% of the vote and a majority of 22,262.[22] She gave her maiden speech on 1 June 2015.[23] She has taken a particular interest in education, home affairs and justice and has written for The Daily Telegraph, Bright Blue, i News, HuffPost, Brexit Central and ConservativeHome.[24]

From 2015 to 2017, Fernandes was a member of the Education Select Committee and the Education, Skills and the Economy Sub-Committee.[25] Between November 2015 and February 2016, she was a member of the Joint Committee on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill.[26] Fernandes chaired the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on Financial Education for Young People from September 2016 to May 2017. Working with the charity Young Enterprise and the money-saving expert Martin Lewis, she led the APPG's inquiry into the provision of financial education in schools and launched its report, Financial Education in Schools: Two Years On – Job Done?,[27] which called for better financial education in schools. Fernandes was also a commissioner on the Social Market Foundation commission on inequality in education,[28] a cross-party initiative which is examining the causes and effects of inequality in education at primary and secondary levels in England and Wales.[citation needed]

Fernandes joined the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme in 2016, graduating from the scheme in 2017.[29] Fernandes opened a Westminster Hall debate[30] in the House of Commons[31] on the failings of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and has chaired meetings with the Trust's executives along with other MPs on the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Hampshire in which instances of poor care quality and the deaths of patients were investigated.[32]

Fernandes was a member of the panel of an inquiry, led by the think-tank British Future, to examine how the government can protect the rights of EU citizens in the UK.[33] Fernandes campaigned to leave the European Union in the 2016 EU membership referendum;[34] a majority (55%) of votes in her constituency were for leaving.[35] She was chair of the European Research Group, a pro-Leave group of Conservative MPs, until her promotion to ministerial office; she was replaced by Jacob Rees-Mogg.[36] Following the 2017 general election, Fernandes was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the ministers of the Treasury.[37]

During the January 2018 reshuffle, Fernandes was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union.[38] On 15 November 2018, Fernandes (now known as Braverman) resigned on the same day that Davis' successor, Dominic Raab, resigned as Brexit Secretary in protest at Theresa May and Olly Robbins's draft Brexit deal, which was released the day before.[39]

In March 2019, Braverman stated in a speech for the Bruges Group that "[a]s Conservatives, we are engaged in a battle against cultural Marxism". Her usage of the Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory, an antisemitic conspiracy theory often employed by neo-Nazis and alt-right activists as a means of attacking Jewish people involved in politics, was condemned as hate speech by other MPs, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the anti-racist organisation Hope Not Hate, among other anti-racist charities. Braverman denied that the term "cultural Marxism" was an antisemitic trope, saying, "We have culture evolving from the far left which has allowed the snuffing out of freedom of speech, freedom of thought. [...] I'm very aware of that ongoing creep of cultural Marxism, which has come from Jeremy Corbyn."[40] After meeting with her later, the Board of Deputies of British Jews said in a subsequent statement that she is "not in any way antisemitic", saying it believed that she did not "intentionally use antisemitic language", while finding that she "is clearly a good friend of the Jewish community" and that they were "sorry to see that the whole matter has caused distress".[41]

Attorney General[]

In the 13 February 2020 reshuffle, Braverman was appointed as Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland, succeeding Geoffrey Cox who had been dismissed from government. She is the second female Attorney General and the first Conservative female Attorney General.[42]

Braverman was designated as a Minister on Leave on 2 March 2021,[43] shortly after the Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Act 2021 was enacted to allow this arrangement. Michael Ellis became Attorney General in an acting capacity. She resumed office on 11 September 2021.[44]

Political and legal positions[]

Free schools[]

Braverman is the chair of governors at the Michaela Community School,[45] and supports plans to create a free school in Fareham.[46] She sits on the advisory board of the New Schools Network, a charity which aims to support groups setting up free schools within the English state education sector.[47]

Rights versus responsibilities[]

In a December 2015 op-ed, Braverman wrote, "In essence, rights have come to fill the space once occupied by generosity." She quotes Eric Posner's theories on what the Brazilian state sees as its right to use torture by "the police in the name of crime prevention. They justify this by putting a general right to live free from crime and intimidation above their rights of those who are tortured." She closes,[48]

To correct the imbalance, perhaps we should adopt a Universal Declaration of Responsibilities and Duties, to be read in tandem with that on Human Rights? A fair, decent and reasonable society should question the dilution of our sense of duty, the demotion of our grasp of responsibility and our virtual abandonment of the spirit of civic obligation. What we do for others should matter more than the selfish assertion of personal rights and the lonely individualism to which it gives rise.

Parliamentary sovereignty and international treaties[]

In 2020, as Attorney General, she stated the UK Government's legal position about the possible impact of the UK Internal Market Bill on the Northern Ireland Protocol:[49]

It is an established principle of international law that a state is obliged to discharge its treaty obligations in good faith. This is, and will remain, the key principle in informing the UK's approach to international relations. However, in the difficult and highly exceptional circumstances in which we find ourselves, it is important to remember the fundamental principle of Parliamentary sovereignty.

Parliament is sovereign as a matter of domestic law and can pass legislation which is in breach of the UK's Treaty obligations. Parliament would not be acting unconstitutionally in enacting such legislation. This 'dualist' approach is shared by other, similar legal systems […].

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015. p. 9122.
    - "Fareham". BBC News. 7 May 2015. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016.
    - "Fareham". BBC News. 8 June 2017. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Supplement on Suella Fernandes". Goan Voice UK. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Supplement on Uma Fernandes". Goan Voice UK. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  4. ^ "From refugees to Parliament: The Goan experience". The Times of India. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
    - "UK: Goan-origin British MP Suella Fernandes and Narayana Murthy's son-in-law appointed to cabinet". Scroll.in. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
    - "Three Goans elected to UK Parliament". The Times of India. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
    - "Three Goan-origin MPs elected to UK Parliament". oHeraldo. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "About Suella". Suella Fernandes. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  6. ^ McGauran, Ann (2 July 2015). "Who's on the new education select committee?". Schools Week. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Fernandes, Sue-Ellen Cassiana, (Suella)". Who's Who 2017. A & C Black. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  8. ^ Iziren, Adeline (30 April 2005). "What happened next?". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media.
  9. ^ Arthur, Sylvia (6 September 2003). "The road to No 10". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media.
  10. ^ George, David (28 February 2018). "Passion for politics sparks MP's romance". The News. Portsmouth: JPIMedia. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  11. ^ Lemmer, Richard (29 July 2020). "Fareham MP continues to vote in Parliament as she welcomes first child". The News. Portsmouth. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
    - Braverman, Suella [@SuellaBraverman] (8 March 2021). "I'm thrilled that our daughter arrived yesterday safe and sound. Thank you to the wonderful @uclh @NHSuk Maternity Team that supported us throughout" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Doward, Jamie (15 February 2020). "Attorney general Suella Braverman belongs to controversial Buddhist sect". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b "Suella Braverman MP". No5 Chambers. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  14. ^ Tolhurst, Alain (13 February 2020). "Who is Suella Braverman, the new Attorney General ready to take on the judiciary?". Politics Home.
  15. ^ Cohen, Nick (12 September 2020). "So what lies behind ultra-loyalist Suella Braverman's rise to the top?". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  16. ^ Slingo, Jemma (24 February 2020). "'It is a privilege': Braverman sworn in as attorney general". The Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Parliamentary candidates to watch". Insight Consulting Group (ICG). Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  18. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  19. ^ Rigby, Elizabeth (10 December 2014). "Being brown and a woman handicaps candidate says Tory". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  20. ^ Aldridge, Alex (26 April 2012). "Vote for me, I'm a lawyer". The Guardian.
  21. ^ "London assembly election results 2012". The Guardian. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  22. ^ Hawkins, Oliver; et al. (28 July 2015). General Election 2015 (Briefing Number CBP7186). House of Commons Library.
  23. ^ "New MP for Fareham pledges her commitment in her maiden speech". The News (Portsmouth). 2 June 2015. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017.
  24. ^ Articles:
  25. ^ "Suella Fernandes MP". UK Parliament.
  26. ^ "Joint Select Committee: Draft Investigatory Powers Bill Joint Committee – membership". UK Parliament.
  27. ^ "APPG on Financial Education for Young People Report Launch in Parliament". Young Enterprise.
  28. ^ "The Commissioners". Conmission on Equality in Education. Social Market Foundation.
  29. ^ "Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme graduation". Suella Braverman. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  30. ^ Campbell, Loughlan (26 May 2016). "Debate to be held at Westminster on criticised NHS Trust". The News. Portsmouth.
  31. ^ "Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: Westminster Hall. 8 June 2016.
  32. ^ "Fareham MP chairs Southern Health meeting in Parliament". ITV News. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  33. ^ "New Inquiry to examine how Government can protect rights of EU citizens in UK". British Future. August 2016.
  34. ^ "Why I will be voting to leave the EU", Suella Braverman, 23 February 2016
  35. ^ "Brexit: Fareham result and reaction". The News. Portsmouth. June 2016.
  36. ^ "Interview: The double-hatted Suella Fernandes – both a member of the Government and a pro-Leave group leader". ConservativeHome. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
    - Stewart, Heather (7 September 2017). "Pro-leave MPs prepare public statement insistent on hard Brexit". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  37. ^ "Parliamentary Private Secretaries: full list". ConservativeHome. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  38. ^ "Suella Fernandes MP". UK Government. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  39. ^ Yandell, Chris (15 November 2018). "Suella Braverman, Tory MP for Fareham, resigns her government post over proposed Northern Ireland Backstop". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  40. ^ Bowcott, Owen (13 February 2020). "New attorney general wants to 'take back control' from courts". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 8 September 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
    - Walker, Peter (26 March 2019). "Tory MP criticised for using antisemitic term 'cultural Marxism'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
    - Sugarman, Daniel (26 March 2019). "Board of Deputies rebuke Conservative MP Suella Braverman for using 'antisemitic trope'". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
    - Manavis, Sarah (27 March 2019). "What is cultural Marxism? The alt-right meme in Suella Braverman's speech in Westminster'". The New Statesman. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  41. ^ "Tory MP Suella Braverman 'not in any way antisemitic', says Board after 'productive meeting'". Jewish Chronicle. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  42. ^ "New Attorney General appointed". UK Government (press release). 13 February 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
    - Andrew Woodcock (13 February 2020). "Suella Braverman: Boris Johnson appoints attorney general days after she attacked 'unaccountable' judges". The Independent. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  43. ^ "Ministerial appointments: 2 March 2021". HM Government. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  44. ^ Braverman, Suella [@SuellaBraverman] (11 September 2021). "Delighted to be re-appointed Attorney General after maternity leave" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 September 2021 – via Twitter.
  45. ^ Fernandes, Suella (16 September 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn should join our crusade for better education". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  46. ^ Barber, Kimberley (11 December 2015). "Volunteers wanted to bring A-levels back in to town". The News. Portsmouth: Johnston Publishing. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
    - Campbell, Loughlan (8 June 2016). "Bid for new Fareham school to offer A-levels pushed back to 2018". The News. Portsmouth: Johnston Publishing. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  47. ^ "Advisory Council". New Schools Network. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  48. ^ Fernandes, Suella (16 December 2015). "Britain is so obsessed with human rights that we have forgotten responsibilities". Telegraph Media Group Limited.
  49. ^ HMG LEGAL POSITION: UKIM BILL AND NORTHERN IRELAND PROTOCOL

External links[]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Mark Hoban 		Member of parliament
for Fareham
2015–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Geoffrey Cox 		Attorney General for England and Wales
2020–present 		Incumbent
Advocate General for Northern Ireland
2020–present
Other offices
Preceded by
Steve Baker 		Chair of the European Research Group
2017–2018 		Succeeded by
Jacob Rees-Mogg


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