Photo: Flickr
Comedian and unofficial leader of the opposition, Joe Lycett, has once again took a swipe at the Tory government – turning his attentions to Suella Braverman this weekend. You guessed it, the Cabinet member has once again been stoking divisions in the UK.
In a scarcely-believable turn of events, the Home Secretary took to Twitter (X) to suggest that those living in tents are doing it as a ‘lifestyle choice’. She even suggested that many of those on the streets ‘are from abroad’. How on-brand.
The Financial Times reported that Suella Braverman’s plans could see the introduction of a new civil order offence, which would deter charities from giving tents to the homeless if their usage could be deemed ‘a nuisance’. Braverman, meanwhile, is sticking to her guns.
“The British people are compassionate. We will always support those who are genuinely homeless. But we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice.”
“What I want to stop, and what the law abiding majority wants us to stop, is those who cause nuisance and distress to other people by pitching tents in public spaces, aggressively begging, stealing, taking drugs, littering, and blighting our communities.” | Suella Braverman
Joe Lycett has skewered a number of high-profile Tories over the years, famously declaring himself ‘right-wing’ and undermining Liz Truss during an appearance on the BBC. However, the Brummie funnyman is hoping his trademark sarcasm can make a real difference here.
Arrowing in on the abhorrent claim that sleeping in tents is a ‘lifestyle choice’ for the homeless, Lycett matches that up against a genuine lifestyle choice – decorating your bathroom with a bowl of potpourri.
He’s uploaded an image of his chosen potpourri on Instagram, asking his 1.3 million followers to donate to Crisis UK – one of the largest homelessness charities in the country. So far, over £15,000 has been raised – and the ultimate goal is to reach £50,000.
Once again, Joe Lycett has shown what a good egg he is…
“My old friend Suella Braverman has described rough sleeping as a ‘lifestyle choice’ I always thought lifestyle choices were things such as cargo pants, fishing and decorating your bathroom with a bowl of potpourri.”
“I want to see if this image I found on Google described as ‘Wooden Botanical Fragrant Potpourri Bowl With Lemon’ can raise £50,000 for homelessness charity, Crisis UK. You can donate here“ | Joe Lycett
