Kemi Badenoch has criticized both Labour and Reform for employing “divisive” identity politics in her bid to emerge as the country’s unity candidate, reports BritPanorama.
The Conservative leader lambasted left-wing factions for attempting to categorize black Britons, while also condemning right-wing racists for asserting that they do not belong in the UK.
She launched her offensive at the start of the party’s four-day conference in Manchester, seizing the opportunity to rejuvenate her lackluster poll numbers and counter ongoing criticisms.
In her speech, Badenoch stated, “Yes, we have a mountain to climb, but we have a song in our hearts and we are up for the fight.” She asserted that both Labour and Reform represent “two sides of the same coin” aimed at inciting division.
“Both deal in grievance. Both divide our country into tribes and labels. Both practice identity politics which will destroy our country. I am saying no: no to division and no to identity politics,” she declared.
Badenoch, who was born in Wimbledon and raised in Nigeria before returning to the UK as a teenager, stressed that her children are British. “I will not allow anyone on the Left to tell them they belong in a different category or anyone on the Right to tell them they do not belong in their own country,” she remarked.
Furthermore, she emphasized that while Britain is multiracial, “nations cannot survive on diversity alone.” She called for “a strong, common culture rooted in our history, our language, our institutions, and our belief in liberty under the law.”
The start of Badenoch’s conference was marred by the defection of Tory donor Mark Gallagher to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Gallagher, who contributed £2,000 to Badenoch’s leadership campaign, departed the Conservatives approximately two months ago.
A source from Reform UK stated, “Nigel (Farage) and Mark have been friends for a long time. We understand he is very disenchanted with the Conservative Party.” In contrast, a Conservative source responded by noting Gallagher’s brief tenure as an adviser on Badenoch’s campaign and highlighted his past affiliations with other political entities, including the Brexit Party.
