Sunak Opens Rift With Tory Right by Reviving Centrist Cameron
- Ousting Braverman as UK home secretary risks major party split
- Some Conservatives worry shift shows lack of coherent strategy
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced months of right-wing pressure to take more risks to rescue his flailing Conservative Party. On Monday, he took a gamble that exceeded all expectations — and opened a Tory split that could dog him all the way to a UK general election.
Sunak brought back ex-premier David Cameron as foreign secretary in an extraordinary Cabinet reshuffle, rehabilitating a predecessor controversial among both centrists and the right for his role in the 2016 Brexit referendum. At the same time, he ousted Home Secretary Suella Braverman — a darling among party populists and key player in Sunak’s rise to power last year — after she challenged his authority over pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London.