False letters or true
Recently UK politics has been providing some interesting examples of how letters are still used in a performative way in formal and official contexts, raising questions about where the boundaries are of what is a ‘proper’ letter and what is not. The particular example for discussion is the 19 October resignation letter of Suella Braverman, formerly Home Secretary in the Liz Truss UK government, and Liz Truss’s response to this letter (See here for the full text of both). There are two questions about this exchange worth noting.
The first is, is the letter from Suella Braverman a false letter or one that is true, in the sense of whether the rationale it invokes for the resignation is true or not. In a week of political turmoil, it claims that a mistake was made in sending a government document in a personal email (rather than the official government email assigned to the Home Secretary) and this meant her resignation was requIred. The possibility is that the event occurred the other way around, that a resignation was wanted, and this ‘mistake’ provided a means of Braverman resigning with what looks like – or at least claims to be – dignified probity. It has been described to me in terms of leaving a sinking ship. Perhaps, but there is something more going on as well. Did she jump, or was she pushed?
The second is that the response from the Prime Minister completely ignores the swingeing criticisms Braverman makes of her and her government, for the resignation letter has the clear implication that Truss has made mistakes and therefore should have resigned but has not. Possibly Truss’s response was intended as dampening the flames, though it has had the contrary effect.
The resignation letter is underpinned by perhaps a likely leadership attempt at some future point by Suella Braverman, as she was an earlier claimant in the contest that led to Liz Truss becoming prime minister. And, the Prime Minister‘s letter of response is an attempt to quieten things in order to stay in office. Both letters have performative aspirations and effects. Watch this space for what happens next and how things will pan out.
Both letters are in way true letters. But in a way both of them are false letters, for they are also letters with strong sub-texts, which mean there is both surface meanings to them and also slantwise ones.
PS. This blog was posted at about 8 am. Liz Truss resigned by about 1 pm.
PPS. A week on and the UK had a new prime minister and considerably reshuffled cabinet. The controversy about Suella Braverman still rumbled on, in the wake of her reappointment as Home Secretary in the Sunak government. The controversy concerns the claims made in the letter, that they add up to a false letter which presents the order of events in a deliberately untruthful and misleading way. Also, they concern her having been constrained to resign, rather than doing so for reasons of probity.
Last updated: 20 and 31 October 2022
