' 'Horrible', 'backwards', and 'stoking the culture wars' - trans, BLM, and environmental activists around Fareham constituency of Home Secretary Suella Braverman attack her barnstorming speech at the Conservative Party conference

Tackling violent crime, illegal crossings of the English Channel, and ‘militant’ activist groups was the focus of the home secretary’s speech on the second day of the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham.

The MP for Fareham also took a firm line against the ‘policing of pronouns’, environmental groups gluing themselves to roads, and ‘left wing’ demands to defund the police and have officers take the knee.

Addressing her party’s annual conference, Ms Braverman said: ‘Many on the left want to defund the police. We will always back our policemen and women.’

But the MP said police should focus on solving crimes and not ‘policing pronouns on Twitter’.

Addressing environmental groups, she added: ‘It’s not (your) freedom of expression to cause damage.

‘You cannot glue yourselves to the roads and get away with it. You cross the line when you break the law and that’s why we will keep putting you behind bars.’

But Fareham resident and Greenpeace Portsmouth co-ordinator James Sebley, 37, said the home secretary had left a different impression when he met her in person in parliament.

The activist, who characterised the MP’s speech as ‘horrible’ and ‘backwards’, said: ‘I spoke to her about climate change in the Houses of Parliament. She said it was one of the greatest threats facing humankind. She may have changed her mind.

‘I think we’re seeing the result of close to 20 years of protesting and next to nothing happening. If you keep ignoring people on an issue that’s threatening so many lives – just look at Pakistan and the USA at the moment – you will see more people resorting to desperate tactics.’

He said that groups like Insulate Britain had put the importance of home insulation ‘on the map’ right before the measures could save much needed money during the cost of living crisis.

Popular artist and trans activist Samo White said the home secretary’s speech was ‘dramatising’ a sensitive issue – while missing important context.

The Portsmouth-based artist said: ‘I think it’s quite a dramatisation that police are going around telling people what they can and cannot say with pronouns. And I don’t think police (would be) wasting their time by doing it. They are being ambassadors.

Samo added: ‘(Politicians) don’t follow up with the stats about those crimes happening against minority groups. It’s false information.

‘The narrative is that it is a minority of people that are problematic for talking about pronouns – rather than the people targeting minority groups.

‘It’s like we have to be angry at minority groups.’

Alex Ruddock, leader of Black Lives Matter Portsmouth, said the home secretary’s characterisation of activist groups ‘doesn’t do justice’ to the differences of opinion within those organisations.

Alex said: ‘In terms of defunding the police, I am in two minds. Each constabulary should be treated differently. I wouldn’t stain Hampshire with the same brush as the Metropolitan Police.

‘(Politicians) will often take a BLM USA statement that doesn’t apply to BLM UK.

The activist added: ‘People in politics are fearful of these movements. They are fearful of Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion – we can mobilise bigger groups of people than they can handle.’

All of the activists said they would be happy to meet the local MP to discuss the issues raised.