Joe Lycett, the voice of the people, is up to his regular shenanigans, with Home Secretary Suella Braverman in his sights as he raises money for charity.
In a sarcastic letter last month, the 35-year-old comedian attacked the MP for ‘pretending to be homosexual’ during her address on migrants.
Suella’s remarks about homelessness being a “lifestyle choice” have piqued Joe’s interest and prompted him to take action.
In a thread on X – formerly Twitter – she wrote: ‘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.’
The statements have sparked an internet outcry, with many pointing out that homelessness, especially in the cold, is rarely a lifestyle choice.
Joe wasn’t about to pass up the chance to do good while mocking the Home Secretary, so he headed to Instagram to launch a fundraising for Crisis UK.
‘My old friend Suella Braverman has described rough sleeping as a “lifestyle choice”,’ he captioned a picture of a potpourri bowl.
He tagged the Home Secretary in the post, which aims to raise £50,000 for the charity, but she has not publicly replied to the outcry.
‘I always thought lifestyle choices were things such as cargo pants, fishing and decorating your bathroom with a bowl of potpourri.
‘Let’s 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.’
View this post on Instagram
Crisis UK aims to alleviate the stresses of homelessness by offering a variety of support services and advocating for political change.
In an update on the fundraising, Joe stated that the ‘potpourri for crisis’ had raised £35,000 in ‘less than 48 hours’, surpassing the £37k milestone hours later.
He reminded his 1.3million followers to use Gift Aid, ‘as it means Suella’s government then have to add an additional 25% towards it. lol.’
According to the most recent official estimates, 2,893 persons were sleeping rough in the UK on a single night in June 2023, an increase of 445 from March 2023.
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. 1/4 https://t.co/fT1Ou5kD5Q
— Suella Braverman MP (@SuellaBraverman) November 4, 2023
According to the most recent Chain numbers, 4,068 individuals were discovered sleeping rough in London between July and September 2023.
Suella wrote on X: ‘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.’
You can donate to Joe’s fundraiser through his Instagram post or directly at Crisis.
