Kemi Badenoch Defends English Identity of Her Children

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has defended the English identity of her mixed-race children. She said she does not want them to grow up in a country where people question whether they are English.

Badenoch spoke at the 2026 Conservative Party Conference on Wednesday. During her speech, she criticised Reform UK MPs over comments about people’s identity.

“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.

Badenoch speaks about Black England players

Badenoch also spoke about the England football team. She said she did not want to explain to her son why some people question the English identity of Black players.

“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.

To support her point, Badenoch mentioned former England stars Ian Wright and John Barnes. Both players represented England during their football careers.

She said people did not question their English identity in the same way.

“I remember back in the day when Ian Wright and John Barnes were playing, nobody was questioning whether they were English,” Badenoch said.

She added that members of Parliament were not questioning their identity at the time.

“We certainly didn’t have sitting MPs questioning whether they were English,” she said.

Badenoch criticises Reform UK MPs

Badenoch warned that Britain should not return to a time when people faced greater divisions over identity.

“We must not let these people take us backwards. That is not the country we are,” she said.

She also compared the Conservatives with Reform UK. According to Badenoch, Reform UK MPs have openly questioned the identity of some people in Britain.

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“Reform MPs are openly questioning people’s identity. They are not like us. We are not like them,” she said.

She then added: “We are different. We are the Conservative Party.”

Debate over English identity continues

Badenoch’s speech has brought the debate over British identity into focus. She argued that people should not have to defend their English identity because of their racial background.

Her comments also linked the issue to football. Black players have represented England at the highest level, yet debates about race and national identity remain part of wider public discussion.

By speaking about her children, Badenoch made the issue personal. She said she did not want them to grow up in a country where their identity was questioned.

Her remarks also highlighted political differences between the Conservative Party and Reform UK over national identity and belonging.