Suella Braverman is criticised after a BBC Question Time debate about what it means to be English. During the programme, the Reform MP is challenged after appearing to link Englishness to ancestry and being “of English origin”. Presenter Fiona Bruce presses her for a clear definition, asking what someone would need to qualify to call themselves English and how far back heritage must go.
Braverman, who was born in London and says she has lived in England her entire life, argues that her own “English origin” is limited because her parents and grandparents were born abroad. She eventually says Englishness becomes “pretty obvious” when there is a “lineage” and a “connection” to England’s heritage going back “a few generations”, but she does not provide a fixed number of generations.
The exchange draws accusations of racism. A black audience member tells Braverman she has “reinforce[d] the racist argument”, describing his own experience of being told he is not English despite being born in the country. New Statesman journalist Oli Dugmore also criticises Braverman’s “political function” as reflecting a view that only white people can be English. Braverman responds on social media, rejecting the racism accusations and saying that such criticism puts her and other Reform politicians at risk.
