Margaret Thatcher Center director hints UK Prime Minister may face ouster

Nile Gardiner, the director of the Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, on Monday suggested that U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was likely to face a leadership challenge and potential ouster following his firing of Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Monday.

Braverman had been a decidedly vocal critic of multiculturalism in the U.K. and prompted calls for her sacking by condemning pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London. Speaking on the "Just the News, No Noise" television show, Gardiner suggested that her termination, in combination with the appointment of former UK Prime Minister David Cameron as foreign secretary, would potential spell the end of Sunak's administration.

"Yes, Suella Braverman, who is the Home Secretary, was sacked from the British cabinet this morning by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. And this followed a series of interventions by the Home Secretary ... basically attacking the protesters' hate marches. She condemned the handling of these protests by the Metropolitan Police in London saying they were too soft and did not apply the law properly or enforce the law properly," Gardiner said. "And Suella Braverman really was the the leading voice condemning multiculturalism in Britain. She is in many respects a a true conservative in the Thatcher mold. And I do think that her condemnation of these 'hate marches,' as she called them, was expressing the the sentiments of the vast majority of the British people who've had enough of these violent, menacing, antisemitic protests on the streets of London [and] other British cities."

"But her strength and resolve was punished with her sacking by the British prime minister, which is an absolutely astonishing move, a terrible move by the prime minister and already there's been a very strong backlash by a lot of British conservatives against what is happening here and outrage over the removal of Suella Braverman, who really was an outstandingly good home secretary," he said.

Pressed on Sunak's own career prospects, Gardiner noted that "already the first letter of no confidence was submitted this this evening in London by a former British Minister. I expect there'll be many more letters of no confidence expressed in the prime minister. And we could see potentially a leadership contest for the leadership of the Conservative Party if we have a sufficient number of MPs, who expressed no confidence in in the prime minister."

"[It's in] early days at the moment, but I think we are seeing the beginning of a rebellion against Rishi Sunak. And there are many Conservative MPs I understand who are deeply unhappy with the prime minister's decision to sack Suella Braverman and but also his decision to appoint former Prime Minister David Cameron as the foreign secretary of Great Britain. That has also sparked a lot of outrage among among British Conservatives," he declared. Cameron led the party and the nation until shortly after the results of the Brexit referendum. He resigned after the public voted the European Union, a move he had opposed.

"I think there are three main contenders on the right of the Conservative Party who would challenge Sunak in the event of a leadership contest, they would be Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, Priti Patel, another former home secretary, and Kemi Badenoch, who is the current international trade secretary and business secretary," he added. "I think they are the three key leading figures on the right. But you'll also see figures from the center of the Conservative Party and on the left of the conservative party also vying ... for the leadership."

"And you may see for example, figures like Penny Mordaunt, Tom Tugendhat, throwing their hat in the ring in the event of a contest, but we're still a long way off I would say right now from another leadership contest, but it could happen in the next few weeks, potentially, if you have a large enough rebellion against Sunak," Gardiner concluded. "And I think that rebellion certainly is starting to build now."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.