Kemi Badenoch has come under fire after describing pro-Palestine demonstrations as “carnivals of hatred directed at the Jewish homeland” during her speech at the Conservative party conference. The party leader said Britain had allowed extremism to go unchecked, referencing chants such as “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada” as examples of calls for violence against Jewish people.
Speaking on Yom Kippur, Badenoch urged introspection, stating that the marches had no right to turn streets into “theatres of intimidation”. She suggested that such protests should be banned, going further than current government policy, which only proposes giving police greater powers to consider the “cumulative impact” of demonstrations when restricting them.
In a separate event at the conference, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick called on Conservative colleagues to “get out of Westminster” and use social media to “shame authorities into action”. He emphasised that the party must demonstrate it has changed, warning that apologies alone are insufficient. Jenrick also floated the idea of rebranding the party as “New Conservatives” to attract younger voters, focusing on housing policy.
