UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has condemned comments from lawmakers in Reform UK that she says risk undermining the English identity of people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Badenoch said she does not want her children growing up in a Britain where journalists face threats, military veterans are labelled traitors and people can have their English identity questioned because of their background.
She said the issue was particularly concerning when applied to Black players representing England in football.
“I don’t want to explain to my son, when we’re watching our brilliant England team play football, that some people don’t think our black players are English,” she said.
Badenoch Recalls England Greats
The Conservative leader pointed to former England internationals Ian Wright and John Barnes as examples of players whose English identity was not publicly disputed while they represented the country.
“I remember back in the day when Ian Wright and John Barnes were playing. Nobody was questioning whether they were English. We certainly didn’t have sitting MPs questioning whether they were English,” she said.
Badenoch warned that allowing such debates to become normal could represent a step backwards for Britain.
“We must not let these people take us backwards. That is not the country we are,” she said.
Conservative Leader Draws Line With Reform UK
Badenoch also accused Reform UK politicians of openly challenging the identity of people from ethnic minority communities.
She argued that the position taken by Reform UK was fundamentally different from that of the Conservative Party.
“They are not like us. We are not like them. We are different. We are the Conservative Party,” Badenoch said.
Her comments come amid a wider political debate in Britain over national identity, immigration and who should be regarded as English, with the Conservative leader making clear that she rejects attempts to question the Englishness of citizens because of their ethnic background.
