Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has criticised what she described as attempts to question the English identity of people from minority ethnic backgrounds, saying she does not want her mixed-race children to grow up in a country where their British identity is disputed.
Badenoch, the Conservative MP for North West Essex, made the comments on Wednesday during her speech at the Conservative Party Conference 2026. She used the address to attack Reform UK MPs over what she characterised as public challenges to the identity and belonging of people who represent England.
“I don’t want to live in a country run by people who threaten journalists, who call veterans traitors, and debate whether my mixed-race children are English,” she said.
The Conservative leader also referred to her son while discussing the England football team. She said she did not want to be placed in a position where she would have to explain to him why some people questioned whether black footballers representing England could be regarded as 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,” she said.
Badenoch contrasted the current debate with the experience of former England internationals Ian Wright and John Barnes. She argued that their status as Englishmen was not subjected to the same kind of public scrutiny during their playing careers.
“I remember back in the day when Ian Wright and John Barnes were playing, nobody was questioning whether they were English,” she said.
“We certainly didn’t have sitting MPs questioning whether they were English,” she added.
The Conservative leader further warned against what she portrayed as a political effort to reverse the progress made on questions of national identity and belonging. She urged voters not to allow what she called divisive politics to alter the character of the country.
“We must not let these people take us backwards. That is not the country we are,” she said.
Badenoch subsequently directed her criticism at Reform MPs, accusing them of publicly challenging the identities of other people. She sought to distinguish the Conservative Party from Reform UK, presenting her party as representing a different political approach.
“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,” Badenoch added.
