In tents and purposes

Cruella is on the dog whistle again, this time stigmatising homeless people living in tents.

Yes, our caring Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has excelled herself by directing her hateful bile at rough sleepers, claiming it's a "lifestyle choice". And it's not just a matter of vile rhetoric. What rational person could possibly maintain that anyone would actively choose to live in a tent in this country as we go into a long, cold, damp British winter? (You wouldn't voluntarily get me under canvas in this country under any circumstances at any time of year but I realise I've just answered my own question; she isn't rational, she's barking.)

Yet there's method in her madness; she's obviously seeking to bolster her leadership aspirations by appealing to the lowest common denominator of the slavering right in her party and the country. And she has form. She has previously spoken of a "hurricane of migration" and called a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Armistice Day a "hate march". Now she's going after some of the most vulnerable in our society at a time of arguably the most wretched living conditions for our people since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

In an opinion piece in the Guardian, Cllr Emily Darlington, housing cabinet lead on Milton Keynes city council writes: "For a start, we didn’t make giving people tents a civil offence [as Braverman has suggested]. Tents are a symptom, not the cause." Cllr Darlington's compassionate policies have almost erradicated rough sleeping in her city. What's Braverman's excuse for a huge increase nationally? Why, blame the victims, of course!

Has she not read the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's latest report, Destitution in the UK 2023? That's a rhetorical question by the way because she almost certainly hasn't, and would doubtless deny its findings if she had. For the record, the JRF describes itself as 'an independent organisation working to inspire social change through research, policy and practice' and its research has revealed that 3.8 million British people last year lacked the most basic means of support, one million of whom were children. To claim that where this level of abject poverty and deprivation leads to homelessness it is 'a lifestyle choice' is not only utterly dishonest it's the most pernicious calumny.

But, hey, it suits her purposes.

Update: In an article in The Times Braverman has accused senior police officers of operational bias, stating "senior police officers play favourites". She has also managed to upset Northern Ireland politicians by a crass analogy with sectarian marches in the Province. It has just been confirmed that the article was not signed off by Number 10 before publication. This is gross insubordination. Will Sunak now finally find the balls to sack this poisonous troll before she does even more damage? Talking to The Standard, senior Tory peer, Lord Robert Hayward, said: “He could take the decision any time between now and Thursday but I would be surprised if she was still in position by Thursday."👏👏




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