Kemi Badenoch: People Have No Right to Turn Our Streets Into Theatres of Intimidation
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has delivered a fiery address at the Conservative Party Conference, warning that Britain must not allow its streets to become “theatres of intimidation” and urging national unity rooted in shared values and culture. Badenoch, who is widely viewed as one of the leading voices of the Conservative Party’s new generation, used her speech to attack both Labour and Reform UK, accusing them of peddling “simplistic answers” and divisive politics. “One flings around the word ‘racist’ and will not be realistic about what is going wrong,” she said. “The other whips up outrage, offering simplistic answers that will fall apart on first contact with reality. That is not serious politics.” She argued that neither Labour nor Reform offers the leadership Britain deserves, describing the two parties as “two sides of the same coin.” Calling for “national unity,” Badenoch said Britain needs “a strong common culture rooted in our history, our language, our institutions, and our belief in liberty under the law.” “Britain is a multiracial country — that is part of our modern story,” she added. “But it must never become a multicultural country where shared values dissolve, loyalty fragments, and we foment the home-grown terrorism that we saw on the streets of Manchester this week.” Badenoch also rejected the populist politics of tearing down institutions, saying: “Britain needs deep change, but I reject the politics that everything must go, that everything must be torn down, that everything is broken. If we leave it to Labour or Reform, Britain will be divided.” Concluding her speech, she declared the Conservative Party “under new leadership and with renewed purpose.” “We have listened, we have learned, and we have changed,” she said. “Yes, we have a mountain to climb, but we have a song in our hearts — and we are up for the fight.”