He said he had considered running to succeed Mr Johnson but concluded he would not be able to win enough support from members.
Mr Baker said he was looking for “someone with iron determination and authenticity. Someone with the power to carry out difficult decisions.
Mr Baker pointed out how Ms Braverman was one of only 28 Tory MPs who stood their ground and refused to back Theresa May’s Brexit deal during three knife-edge votes in the House of Commons in 2019
He said: “Suela embodies our diverse country and is passionate about it too. When finally even I hesitated to support Brexit in name only, Suella stood firm.
“We have Brexit today only because of what we did then. It wouldn’t have happened without her.”
The rise to Tory leadership candidate for Ms Braverman was startling. Just three weeks ago she told the Chopper’s Politics podcast of her “deep” loyalty to Mr Johnson.
Then she said: “I want Boris to continue. I think I am deeply loyal to him. I wish more of my colleagues would be loyal to it and reflect and embrace it. His phenomenal achievements for our party.”
Without Suella, there would be no Brexit
For seven of the last 12 years, I ended up where I didn’t want to be – a rebel. I am painfully aware of my reputation. Whenever there was trouble, I was there.
I was closely involved in the fight to leave the EU and in the opposition to blockades and restrictions. Don’t get me started on Net Zero.
I was humbled that colleagues wanted to fight alongside me in these battles. But I want the fight to stop. I want our party to unite.
I’m glad we’ve succeeded on so many fronts, winning battles outright or moving the dial substantially in the direction of freedom and prosperity. But we need a leader who stops dividing our party.
ConservativeHome pollsters were routinely flattered, placing me high on their list of next leader. As a well-educated, working-class kid from Cornwall, I couldn’t be more honored. I take seriously the views of party supporters. We have to respect the people who work so hard to send us to Westminster.
That’s why I took the time to seriously consider running to lead conservatives in a more conservative direction. I know I have to be ruthlessly realistic about the prospect of a backbench MP with no cabinet experience being elected by MPs to lead them. I concluded that there was not.
When I survey the field, I look for someone with iron determination and authenticity. Someone with the power to carry out difficult decisions. Someone in whom the principles of the Conservative Party are deeply and firmly rooted. A man of integrity and moral courage.
As much as I respect the field of candidates, only one inspires genuine enthusiasm in me as someone who will lead a team capable of meeting the challenges immediately ahead and in the longer term. Someone who will win the next election because under their leadership we will deserve to win it.
Someone I saw making a strong call to reject the easy path of a terrible Brexit deal that would inevitably split our party and allow a hard-left Corbyn government to destroy our country for generations. To resist all the voices that wanted to support this betrayal of the referendum result was courage. She has them.
That person is Suella Braverman.
Suella embodies our diverse country and is passionate about it too. When finally even I hesitated to support Brexit in name only, Suella stood firm. We have Brexit today only because of what we did then. It wouldn’t have happened without her.
The Conservative Party won its biggest majority in an election since Margaret Thatcher. Millions of people across the country were inspired by our message of hope and unity and believed in us – in many cases for the first time in a generation.
Today we must regain that faith. We have to deliver on the manifesto we put forward and the mandate we were given.
On a number of issues the Conservative Party today is in the wrong place, going in the wrong direction, limiting our country’s potential, contributing to the cost of living crisis and risking a Labor government. Zuela can and will turn this around.
Conservatism is an aspiration to pass on a better future to the next generation, freedom under the law and responsibility in the community. It’s about treating everyone equally and the idea that no one should be held back from reaching their potential, just as no one is left behind.
I support Zuela with unwavering loyalty as Conservative leader and Prime Minister.
Steve Baker is the Conservative MP for Wycombe
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