"I’m as English as a Yorkshire cup of tea."
A Green Party deputy leader called for the government to declare a national emergency on racist violence and intimidation as he called out Suella Braverman.
Mothin Ali made the demand while addressing his party’s conference in Brighton, where he also criticised Mrs Braverman over her comments about Englishness.
Mr Ali declared that his identity and heritage did not make him any less English.
He told the conference: “And a message to Suella Braverman – I’m Brown, I’m Muslim, but I’m as English as a Yorkshire cup of tea.”
Mr Ali also called on the Prime Minister to recognise what he described as unprecedented levels of racist violence and intimidation as a national emergency:
“At a time when Britain is facing unprecedented levels of racist violence and intimidation, the country needs leadership. So I’m calling on Andy Burnham to recognise this as a national emergency. Because this is not just a policing problem.
“It’s a test of whether a diverse democracy can protect the equal right of everybody to belong.”
Mr Ali’s comments came after Mrs Braverman was criticised for remarks about Englishness.
The Reform MP previously said: “As I’ve said before, I’m not English. I’m proud to be British… Englishness is an ethnicity.”
On BBC Question Time, Mrs Braverman said: “I think it becomes pretty obvious when people have got a lineage, an ancestry, a connection, to the heritage of this country, which dates back a few generations.
“I think that’s not unreasonable to expect of people who come to this country.”
Green Party deputy leader Rachel Millward also used her conference speech to criticise the response to asylum seekers being housed in her area of East Sussex.
Ms Millward accused the Home Office of housing asylum seekers at an unsuitable military base.
She said the situation had been devastating because of the divisions that had emerged in the community.
“But this did not come from Crowborough. This is an organised, global far right movement, spreading hateful narratives online for money.
“And it swung through that small town like a wrecking ball. A sudden and constant flow of online abuse, threats, doxxing of anyone who dared to speak compassion.”
Ms Millward also accused billionaire “tech bros” of stirring up hatred in her area after hundreds of asylum seekers were moved to a camp there.
Mr Ali also unveiled a proposal aimed at providing a guaranteed job for every 18 to 24-year-old for up to two years.
Under the plan, the government would pay half of the wages for 24-month placements in non-public sector positions.
He said areas with high numbers of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) would be included in the first stage of the proposed scheme.
