Kemi Badenoch has declared that the Nottingham murders, the Southport attack, the Manchester Arena bombings, and the rape gangs scandal could all have been prevented if authorities had not been afraid of being labelled racist. The Conservative leader made the remarks during a speech at the Institute for Government, where she argued that a fear of being accused of racism has hindered law enforcement and allowed crimes to go unchecked.
Badenoch's Anti-Woke Stance
The 46-year-old, who was born in Wimbledon and spent her childhood in Nigeria and the United States before returning to the UK as a teenager, has positioned herself as a foe of identity politics. She believes that an excessive focus on racial equality has led to a system that prioritises perceptions of racism over public safety. 'Race is not the cause of those crimes, but it is the reason these crimes are not being prevented,' she told the audience.
Criticism of Public Sector Equality Duty
Badenoch has pledged to abolish the public sector equality duty, which she argues has created a culture of overcorrection that is actually discriminatory. 'Modern Britain is the least racist country on earth,' she said. 'I speak from experience. As a child, I lived on three different continents. There is nowhere else on Earth that I would be doing the job that I’m doing right now as a black woman in a majority-white country. It is because we are not racist, because we care so much about equality, that we have overcorrected and actually brought in rules that are actually discriminatory.'
Two-Tier Policing Allegations
The Tory leader also raised concerns about what she described as two-tier policing, pointing to examples such as Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities breaking laws without consequences, rapists being placed in women's prisons due to gender reassignment policies, and pro-Palestinian marchers chanting slogans that would lead to prosecution if posted online. 'When people can see these things, they will believe in two-tier policing,' she said.
Criticism of the Macpherson Report
Badenoch criticised the Macpherson report, which followed the murder of Stephen Lawrence, claiming it enshrined the principle that a crime is racist if 'it is perceived as racist by the victim or any other person'. She argued that this definition has contributed to a reluctance among authorities to act decisively.
Distinction from Reform UK
While taking a tough stance, Badenoch sought to distinguish her party from Nigel Farage's Reform UK. She rejected calls for 'pure cold rage' from figures like Farage and US Vice President JD Vance, arguing that Conservatives 'want to fix a broken system, not smash it to pieces'. 'Rage is not a strategy and not a solution,' she said.
Defending White, Elderly, Christian People
Badenoch gave an example of how she challenged equalities-obsessed bureaucracy during the last government. She recalled wanting to allocate more funding to councils with greater social care responsibilities, but officials warned that the policy would disproportionately benefit 'white, elderly, Christian people' and lead to lawsuits under the public sector equality duty. 'I told them that I was happy to be sued because any ounce of common sense would tell you that the majority of people in Britain needing social care are white, elderly, Christian people,' she said.
Personal Reflections on Identity
Referring to her own children, who are mixed race, Badenoch said: 'They are half black and half white and I want them to feel that they can be both, but they don’t need to choose, that no one is going to be judging them because they look like their mother or their father, but judging them as individuals.'
As the Conservatives fight for electoral survival against Reform UK, Badenoch's attack on identity politics is both a political strategy and a deeply held conviction. She believes she is in a battle for Britain, and she relishes the fight.
