Tory leader Kemi Badenoch criticized Reform UK during her speech at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham for questioning people's identity as English, particularly targeting comments made by Reform MP Suella Braverman. Braverman had previously suggested that British Asians like herself cannot be considered English due to their heritage. Badenoch, who was born to Nigerian parents and is a mother of mixed-race children, emphasized the Conservative Party’s stance against such divisive rhetoric, asserting that her party remains inclusive and opposed to Reform UK's policies and attitudes.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Kemi Badenoch delivered a keynote address at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on October 7, framing the upcoming election as a "battle for the soul of this nation." The Tories are positioning themselves against Labour's proposed tax-and-spend policies, which they argue will lead to higher taxes and increased bills for citizens. Badenoch pledged significant tax cuts, including halving employer national insurance contributions for workers aged 21-24, scrapping a property tax on homes worth over £2 million, and changing inheritance tax laws so no one pays it on their family home.
Badenoch said the number of families paying death duties would fall by half due to her proposed changes. She warned that Britain is "running out of money and running out of time" as Western economies become more fragile, emphasizing a need for fiscal responsibility. The Conservative leader sought to draw a clear ideological line with Labour, led by Andy Burnham, who has pledged to reverse Baroness Thatcher’s ban on public ownership of water companies.
Badenoch's speech outlined a plan to reduce the national debt and protect families’ assets through tax cuts aimed at boosting economic growth. She also criticized Reform UK as a "circular firing squad" and urged voters who had left the Tories to return to their party for the next election.
Written for “Battle for Britain's Soul” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 10 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but 2 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 62790: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-07
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch today lashed out at Reform UK as she warned the party's senior figures to not 'debate whether my mixed-race children are English'.
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children → lash → figures
In her keynote speech to the Conservative conference in Birmingham, Mrs Badenoch condemned Nigel Farage's outfit for 'openly questioning people's identity'.
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Badenoch → condemn → identity
'We must not let these people take us backwards.
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people → let → us
That is not the country we are,' she told Tory members.
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she → tell → members
Mrs Badenoch, a mother-of-three who was born in London to Nigerian parents and is married to banker Hamish Badenoch, said her party was 'different' to Reform.
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party → bear → Reform
It follows remarks by Reform MP Suella Braverman, who has suggested that British Asians like herself can't be English.
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Asians → follow → herself
In an appearance on BBC's Question Time last week, Mrs Braverman said she is 'British of Asian ethnicity' rather than English because of her family's heritage.
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she → say → heritage
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch lashed out at Reform UK as she warned the party's senior figures to not 'debate whether my mixed-race children are English'
Mrs Badenoch, a mother-of-three who was born in London to Nigerian parents and is married to banker Hamish Badenoch, said her party was 'different' to Reform
Suella Braverman, who was home secretary in the previous Tory government before defecting to Reform UK, has suggested that British Asians like herself can't be English
The former Tory home secretary, who defected to Reform at the beginning of this year, has been widely attacked over her stance by senior Conservatives.
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who → lash → Conservatives
In her own criticism, Mrs Badenoch told Tory members on Wednesday: '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.
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children → tell → veterans
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.
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players → want → football
'I remember back in the day when Ian Wright and John Barnes were playing, nobody was questioning whether they were English.
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they → remember → day
We certainly didn't have sitting MPs questioning whether they were English.
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they → have → ?
We must not let these people take us backwards.
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people → let → us
Reform MPs are openly questioning people's identity.
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MPs → question → identity
Back in the day, we were the ones who put out a poster saying Labour says he's black, we say he's British.
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he → put → poster
I don't know whether you've noticed, but I am black.
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I → know → ?
'All that we have done, and all that we will do in the world.
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we → do → world
Our best days are not behind us, and we will not let this country go backwards.'
Mrs Badenoch also reiterated her opposition to doing a deal with Reform, despite some senior Tories having called for the parties to work together to take on Labour.
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parties → let → Labour
'To those who say 'unite the Right', we are not uniting with that,' she said, to a standing ovation from Conservative members.
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she → say → members
Her conference speech came after Reform deputy leader Richard Tice earlier refused to answer when asked whether he would question Mrs Badenoch's Englishness.
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he → come → Englishness
'Frankly, this whole Englishness debate is something we just haven't got time for,' Mr Tice told Times Radio on Wednesday morning.
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Tice → get → morning
'It's fine if the economy is growing and everyone's feeling rich and nothing better to do than to navel-gaze.'
Pressed again on whether he would question Mrs Badenoch's Englishness, Mr Tice replied: 'I'm just not talking about it.
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I → grow → it
I think it's a complete waste of time.'
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it → think → time
He added: 'I'm focused on cutting bills, growing the economy, and cutting draft regulations, and not ridiculous navel-gazing.'
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I → add → regulations
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