Pictured: Suella Braverman (Wikimedia Commons) and Robert Jenrick (Flickr) [edited]

Does British Politics think it’s the lead up to Christmas? Because it seems that they are running an advent calendar. Every day we wake up to another Conservative Party MP defecting to Reform UK and joining Nigel Farage’s hate driven regime. The most recent candidate was Suella Braverman, former home secretary, who waltzed in claiming she felt like she had ‘come home’. 

It seems baffling that a woman whose parents were born in Mauritius and Kenya, a literal product of immigration, might be at ‘home’ in a party that’s arguable main policy is depriving immigrants of a home in Britain. That being said, lying, deceit and outright discrimination lie central to both the Braverman and Reform playbook.

 However, it is not Suella and her pathetic power grab that are really of note within this news. Instead, it is the scope of Conservative party members joining Reform UK. Braverman brings Reform up to eight members of parliament and brings the number of ex-tory MPs now MPs for Reform up to five. This begs the question, is Reform UK just a rebranded Conservative Party? 

In a sense, yes. There remains a key difference though. The Conservative Party is now increasingly made up of members with an ounce of respect for democracy, admittedly it is only an ounce, whereas Reform members disregard democracy and based on the track record of their members – the law. It is indeed a sad, sad day when those on the left are looking at the Conservative party and wishing for their revival. That day has somewhat arrived and if not fully, will have soon.

Hopefully, the public will see these defectors for what they are. They are failures, the same people who led us down the garden path the first time around. Is the UK really that stupid that it cannot remember that these are the people who led our economic crisis, broke their own Covid-19 laws, and were, frankly, into a cost-of-living in every way? According to the polls, indeed they are. But one should remain hopeful all the same; the country may come to its senses and stop this vile bunch of fascists putting this country to shame. 

Not only do these defections transform Reform UK into a glorified Conservative Party, but they also display these politicians for the careerists that they are. The British public is most definitely disenfranchised with the political landscape; one must only inspect turnout statistics to figure that one out. Perhaps it is a result of said careerism with those that stand for election seemingly being bounty hunters, jumping ship to whichever seems to be floating at any given point. 

Unfortunately, the description of MPs as bounty hunters is more than a surface level metaphor, constituencies and standpoints appear to be bought and sold in the British political landscape, with warmongering companies and American fascists the seeming auctioneers. Careerism has long been a problem and will most likely remain one. The system we all exist within has ascended to the heights of capitalism and with-it has denounced democracy in favour of profit margins. It is broken. Suella Braverman, Robert Jenrick and the other dishonourable members that have jumped ship are simply symptomatic of this.

The question on everyone’s lips should be how to fix the system and rid it of careerism. Unfortunately, a simple answer doesn’t exist. But it can still be achieved. The solution lies in councillors, MPs and Prime Ministers that truly know their constituents, identify their problems and fully address them. Parliament is plagued by politicians who fail to see the real problems of their constituents.

Inequality is rife within Britain and yet millions of pounds are thrown away on defence spending every year. When politicians wake up to the real problems in Britain and the problems of everday people then everyone will be better off. No longer will people be wondering if they can put food on their table for their families or whether they can afford their children’s school uniform. The people must also wake up though; they must stand up for themselves and put pressure on the snake’s nest to create this change. 

Articles such as these have very little effect in creating such change, however. If you are reading this and have actively searched out a left-wing magazine specific to a university you most likely are already attempting to create political change. It is about educating and pushing the masses to make change, so tell everyone you know that change can happen and it starts with them.