Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, has said that she does not want to live in a country where there would be a debate over the identity of her mixed-race children.
Badenoch, who is the MP for North West Essex, made the statement during her speech at the Conservative Party Conference 2026 on Wednesday while criticising Reform UK MPs for what she described as openly questioning people’s identities.
“I don’t want to live in a country run by people who threaten journalists, who call veterans traitors, and who debate whether my mixed-race children are English,” she said.
She further said that she did not want to explain to her son why some people questioned whether Black players representing England were English.
During her speech, the MP said, “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.”
The Conservative leader criticised members of Reform UK, accusing them of questioning the identity of people based on their race and background.
“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 noted.
Badenoch warned against what she described as attempts to take the country backwards.
“We must not let these people take us backwards. That is not the country we are. Reform MPs are openly questioning people’s identity. They are not like us. We are not like them. We are different. We are the Conservative Party,” she said.
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