United Kingdom Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said immigrants from countries whose cultures do not align with British values should not be welcome in the UK. She made the remarks during an interview with Fareed Zakaria on CNN on Sunday.
Badenoch, who was born to Nigerian Yoruba parents and spent much of her childhood in Nigeria, defended her position when asked about her background. She argued that large-scale immigration could erode British culture, adding that “culture matters more.”
She explained that people from around the world are drawn to the UK because of its system built on enlightenment values, equality under the law, freedom of speech, freedom of association, women’s rights, and the rule of law. She warned that if large numbers of people who do not share those values enter the country, the character of the nation would eventually change.
Badenoch sparked further debate by stating that not all cultures are equal. She cited practices such as child marriage, the criminalisation and killing of homosexuals, and the treatment of women as less than full citizens as examples of cultures she considers incompatible with British values.
The opposition leader also accused some immigrants of exploiting the UK’s tolerant legal system to gain citizenship fraudulently. She claimed that some asylum seekers falsely present themselves as homosexual or undergo false religious conversions to secure legal status.
Badenoch stressed that under her leadership, she would not allow Nigerian immigrants or others to replicate their home countries in the UK, saying only immigrants who make net contributions and are not reliant on welfare or social housing would be welcome.
6
