Brit Beats n.2- Braverman goes to Washington, a historic murder charge and Rishi Sunak, the Carbon Avenger
Suella Braverman pushes the Tories to the far-right in Washington, a historic murder charge for Chris Kaba's murderer sends the police in full alert, Sunak goes full carbon.
Welcome to this second edition of Brit Beats and, well, there is a lot to unfold. Let’s start with Suella Braverman’s speech on Washington.
Braverman goes to Washington
The Home Secretary has visited the United States and she declared on Tuesday, among other things that multiculturalism has failed, during a speech at the right-wing think tank American Enterprise Institute. The death, or failure of multiculturalism is a tired trope, which has been mentioned by various conservative figures in the past, from Nicolas Sarkozy to David Cameron and Angela Merkel. The only “new” element is that now this trope is enunciated by non-white ministers, alongside other far-right and racist tropes.
Unsurprisingly, Braverman used the platform to relaunch her hateful rhetoric against migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers from across the pond, labeling migration as an “existential challenge”, pointing out that the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention (established in the aftermath of the Shoah) cannot be up to date nowadays and questioning the fact that fearing discrimination for being gay or a woman should be enough to qualify for asylum.
On one hand, this is a way for Braverman to keep her brand on stopping the small boats and promoting the Rwanda deportation plan, and on the other, it could be, according to some, a way to look forward and lead the Tories in opposition from the Right. In the case of a defeat in next year’s elections, Rishi Sunak would not be able to lead the Conservatives anymore, so Braverman may be looking for an opportunity, as the other woman of colour and champion of the party’s Right, Kemi Badenoch has seen her influence fading significantly, within and outside the cabinet. The Tories conference started yesterday in Manchester and will end on Wednesday, and is expected to be the last one before the next General Elections.
When it comes to the nature of her speech and its language, this is probably the one that edges most to the far-right narratives; if we compare it to the rhetoric expressed by Giorgia Meloni or Matteo Salvini in Italy, it is actually difficult to spot any differences, if we exclude the fact that Braverman, like Patel before her, will always be able to play on the identity politics for dummies, explaining how her parents’ migrants background does not and should not influence her stance on migration.
To paraphrase Shakespeare “Racist rhetoric would still smell foul when voiced by a person of colour ” but it is clear that the more Sunak is weak and lets the culture wars Tories lead the way (despite the fact that they may not be that interesting for the electorate), the more Braverman and her side will be empowered, pushing the party further and further to the Right, almost indistinguishable from the far-right. In fact, the Home Secretary’s week has been quite eventful.
A historic murder charge, armed policemen walking out, and Braverman stepping in
The murder charge for the police officer who shot Chris Kaba dead on September 6, 2022, is a historic one. The officer cannot be named at this stage and is only known as NX121. The officer will stand on trial next year.
Beyond the fact that this is the first murder charge brought against a member of the police force in several years, this development marks the first step in the struggle of Kaba’s family and activists to seek justice for his murder. Kaba was 24, unarmed, and about to become a father. As Kaba’s murder occurred in the same week when Queen Elizabeth II died, his death ended up as an afterthought at best in the news cycle, despite some exceptions.
Since 1990, 1,873 people have died in police custody or after contact with the police in England and Wales according to the charity INQUEST, and over 33 years there has only been one successful prosecution of an officer for manslaughter (but not for murder).
Braverman found time to back the police following this murder charge and announced a review of armed police. The timing of this announcement could not have been more timely, as it followed the decision of more than 100 officers to hand over their weapons in fear of facing justice.
The gravity of a Minister stepping in a similar matter should not be understated, but that still puts Braverman at the centre of the conversation, achieving her goal and distracting from the central issue.
The central issue is that the police force is proving once again, its lack of scrutiny and acceptance of accountability, despite damning reports on misogyny and institutional racism, making all the conversations on reform ludicrous at best, especially with a Home Secretary standing by them, no matter the gravity of their actions.
Rishi Sunak, the Carbon Avenger
With Braverman leading the debate on how to be as cruel as possible on migration, culture wars, and defending the police, what is left for Rishi Sunak? Here is the origin story of the Carbon Avenger.
Sunak has relied excessively on the Tories’ culture warriors’ Right, making him weaker and weaker. Since the Uxbridge byelection was the only recent electoral success for the Tories and was achieved on an anti-ULEZ platform, the PM’s response has been a progressive abandonment of the net zero strategy, also expanding the North Sea oil and gas drilling, for the joy of Oil and Gas giants of course.
Interestingly enough, this massive U-turn has attracted broad criticism, including from businesses and car giants like Ford and some Tories, like former London mayoral candidate and House of Lords member Zac Goldsmith.
The debate in the Conservative Party is in fact largely dominated by the neoliberals laissez-faire No Taxes for the wealthy orphans of Truss and the culture warriors of Patel and Badenoch and most parties are likely aware that is unlikely that Sunak will be able to play the same card of “renewal” which led John Major into no.10. In this way, all the different sections within the Tories are likely playing their cards for a potentially time in opposition during their conference in Manchester.
In this way, Sunak, who recently sat in Thatcher’s car and is now talking constantly about motorists, seems to have found his own culture war to fight, appealing to the idea that caring about environmental targets and leading to shifts in the car industry are all obsessions of the liberal elitès.
This is pure ideology, however, as ULEZ represents a step in the right direction. While a conversation on how to develop green policies always needs to be accompanied by checks on how to reach that stage across different sectors, it is crucial to remember that those who belong to more disadvantaged groups are the ones more affected by climate change and air pollution. It is pretty clear that this move has nothing to do with those groups, but with the wealthy ones.
Will Sunak’s new not-so-secret identity as the Carbon Avenger be enough to dominate the culture wars in his party? Only time will tell, but this may still not be enough to return to n.10 next year.
What you should watch
Boiling Point: on BBC IPlayer, or on BBC on Sunday at 9. The four-episode series continues the storyline of the excellent movie with a new setting, a restaurant which takes inspiration from Northern cuisine. Most of the old staff returns, led by Vinette Robinson as Carly this time, as Andy, played by Stephen Graham is recovering from the heart attack he suffered at the end of the homonymous movie. Expect a lot of frantic tension, and remember: do not drive front of house and kitchen staff to exhaustion as a customer, because hospitality is a tough gig already. An absolute must-watch.
Gen V- Do you like The Boys? Then you will love Gen V, which delves into the new generation of Supes, studying at Godolkin University. Rest assured, there is something rotten in Supes higher education. The show is not simply a spin-off, but will also be a bridge to the next season of the bashing Supes posse. Expect a lot of familiar faces and to quote the X-Men, hope that some of these kids will survive the experience. The first three episodes are already available on Amazon Prime.
Good to read, good sounds
Ash Sarkar’s conversation with Naomi Klein for Novara Media.
Gael Garcia Bernal’s untravelled road, GQ, by Marisa Meltzer.
Patriotic Alternative and Tommy Robinson praise Braverman’s speech, The Lead, by Sian Norris.
It is a wrap for now, you can find my story for Untold Magazine on digital borders here….and, if you like what I write, please subscribe.