UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has sparked reactions after hitting back at Reform UK figures over comments questioning whether her mixed-race children are English.
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Badenoch condemned what she described as attempts to question people’s national identity based on their race.
She said she did not want to live in a country where politicians debated whether her children were English, before declaring: “I am Black. I am British. I’m proud of my country, I’m proud of our history.”
The comments came amid an ongoing row involving Reform UK MP Suella Braverman, who had suggested that non-white people born in Britain could be British but not necessarily English. Badenoch accused Reform figures of “openly questioning people’s identity” and rejected the idea of defining Englishness by race.
Her remarks, however, have generated another debate online, particularly among social media users who focused on her Nigerian heritage.
Reacting, @TelmzT wrote: “You are Black, African and Nigerian. The earlier you accept this the sooner you’ll find peace. Those whities will never see you as themselves.”
@WudiSnipper said: “It’s delusional for Kemi Badenoch to think she is British… she is a Nigerian. Time will come when all these nonsense about citizens of another country would stop..”
@Henry0560488431 wrote: “See how she is fighting her true identity, once she is done ranting, the MPs should remind her once again she is a Nigerian so, she can cry more”
@Meritcorpogll6 said: “Kemi you’re Yoruba and Nigerian.”
@shattapapaz wrote: “You never see anything. Your name is Kemi, English people dont bare such name!”
@ChrisPinnell4 said: “When John Barnes was playing for England, she was living in Lagos …”
@louis_suzor wrote: “But she is one of those who think certain people are not British enough to be given Residency 😂😂😂😂”
@KingReezy69 added: “You can’t associate yourself with us and you want them to associate their selves with you. Ok madam doble standards”