Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch issued a stark warning that Britain is “stagnating,” accusing the Labour-led government of prioritizing identity debates while global competitors surge ahead in critical industrial and technological sectors.
Speaking at the Conservative Party’s annual conference in Manchester, Badenoch drew a sharp contrast between the UK’s policy focus and the rapid development elsewhere.
Focus on Identity over Industry
Badenoch directly challenged the government’s priorities, using a pointed comparison with China’s infrastructure development to underscore her point about Britain’s economic sluggishness.
“While Britain was redefining what a woman is, China was busy building five nuclear reactors,” Badenoch said in a video of her speech posted on social media.
She argued that the UK is struggling to keep pace with “restless and ambitious” nations and is suffering from a lack of dynamism.
“Britain is stagnating while the world around us moves on,” she asserted. “We are competing with restless and ambitious countries around the world.”
Badenoch cited the economic rise of other nations as evidence of the UK’s slipping competitiveness. “We are competing with a billion people in India striving to become middle class. We are competing with economic success stories like Poland,” she added, noting that Poland is currently growing “twice as fast as we are.”
In a bid to revive the country’s economic growth, Badenoch announced that the Conservative Party intends to abolish stamp duty on property purchases in the United Kingdom.
Labour Rejects Claims
In response to the speech, Labour Party Chair Anna Turley accused Badenoch of being in “complete denial,” arguing that the Conservative Party was responsible for years of economic failure and mess.
Turley stated, “Kemi Badenoch is in complete denial. The public saw the Tories’ disastrous blueprint for Britain across their 14 years of failure in government – and the Conservatives still won’t apologise for the mess they left.”
Turley concluded that only the Labour Party could be trusted to grow the economy and secure the nation’s borders.
