Badenoch Hits Out At Reform In Fiery Conference Speech Amid ‘Englishness’ Row

Kemi Badenoch has sharply criticised Reform UK and ruled out any chance of a pre-election arrangement with Nigel Farage’s party.

Closing the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham with her keynote speech, she declared: “We are not uniting with that!”

The Tory leader took aim at Reform’s attacks on the media and at Zia Yusuf’s description of Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary and Army veteran, as a “traitor”.

She also condemned Suella Braverman’s suggestion that non-white people cannot be English, saying: “We must not let these people take us backwards.”

Tory activists greeted her remarks with enthusiastic applause as she said: “To those who say ‘unite the right’… we are not uniting with THAT.

“I don’t want to live in a country run by people who threaten journalists, call veterans traitors and debate whether my mixed-race children are English.

“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.

“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.

“We must not let these people take us backwards. That is not the country we are.

“I don’t know whether you’ve noticed, but I am Black. I am British. I’m proud of my country, I’m proud of our history.”

The North West Essex MP joked about an “export boom” following the departure of dozens of former Conservatives to Farage’s party.

Related: Badenoch Declares She No Longer Considers Herself Nigerian

She also ridiculed Braverman and another ex-Conservative minister, Robert Jenrick, both now senior Reform MPs, by calling them “drama queens.”

She said: “In 2024 voters gave their verdict on the rows, the plots and the in-fighting. Remember all that drama? That’s gone.

“The Conservatives have had an export boom. We have had an export boom of drama queens going to Reform. This party is now the no-drama party, we are the no-nonsense party.”

Badenoch then turned on the Green Party, whose conference last week passed a motion declaring “Zionism is racism”.

She said: “You know what else is taking us backwards? The disgraceful anti-semitism we saw at the Green Party conference last weekend. They are seeking to erase Jewish identity.

“Shame on the Green Party and shame on (party leader) Zack Polanski.”

She also poked fun at Keir Starmer, who was ousted from office in July.

“What’s Labour been up to this last year?” Badenoch said.

“Keir Starmer, remember him? Last year he was talking about being in power for a decade.

“Now he’s not even an MP. Life comes at you pretty fast.

“And to think people were writing us off. Let me tell you, I am not someone who gets written off and neither is the Conservative Party.

“Conference, there is a reason our party is still here after 200 years.”

On policy, Badenoch pledged to reform inheritance tax so families could hand down their homes to relatives without being taxed.

She announced plans to let couples leave an additional £1 million tax-free, as part of Conservative proposals to boost growth and create jobs.

The leader of the opposition also promised to reduce energy costs and cut welfare, with spending restrictions for people who have not found work within six months.

She added that, if returned to power, her party would cut crime and increase defence spending.