Leader of the UK Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has criticised the British government for abstaining from a United Nations vote on slavery reparations.
According to her, the UK’s representative should have voted against the declaration, knowing that the country will end up paying trillions in reparation judging from its colonial history.
“Russia, China and Iran vote with others to demand trillions in reparations from UK taxpayers…and the Labour government abstain!”
“Britain led the fight to end slavery. Why didn’t Starmer’s representative vote against this? Ignorance…or cowardice?” She said.
“We shouldn’t be paying for a crime we helped eradicate and still fight today,” she added.
It is worthy of note that, the UK (then Great Britain) was a dominant player in the Transatlantic slave trade. For over 200 years, British merchants, the monarchy, and the government were deeply involved in the forced transport of millions of Africans.