UNITED KINGDOM: Don’t tell me my Kids aren’t English. I am Black. I am British! — Kemi Badenoch lashes out at rival party over ‘Englishness’ row
UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has launched a scathing attack on Reform UK, warning figures within the rival party against questioning national identity and debating the heritage of her mixed-race children.
Delivering her keynote address at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Wednesday, Badenoch condemned the political movement led by Nigel Farage, accusing its figures of dragging national discourse backwards.
“I don’t want to live in a country run by people who threaten journalists, call veterans ‘traitors’ and debate whether my mixed-race children are English,” she told party members. “We must not let these people take us backwards. That is not the country we are.”
Her remarks followed comments by former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who defected from the Conservatives to Reform UK earlier this year, suggesting on BBC’s Question Time that British Asians like herself cannot claim English identity due to heritage.
Badenoch rejected the idea that ethnic background precludes national belonging, citing iconic Black English footballers Ian Wright and John Barnes as examples of inclusive national identity.
“I don’t know whether you’ve noticed, but I am Black. I am British. I’m proud of my country, I’m proud of our history,” Badenoch said. “Reform MPs are openly questioning people’s identity. They are not like us; we are not like them. We are different.”