Kemi Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, has said that immigrants from countries with cultures that clash with British values should not be welcomed into the UK.
Speaking during an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday, Badenoch stressed that cultural differences have a significant impact on immigration policy and warned that large numbers of people who reject British values could fundamentally change the country.
She said culture matters more than background or origin, adding that “in the UK, there is something that people from around the world are coming there to get. It is that system—you know, enlightenment values, equality under the law, freedom of speech, freedom of association, women having equal rights, the rule of law, our legal systems—so much of that is what draws people from around the world.” She warned that if large numbers of people enter the UK without believing in those values, “eventually your country will change.”
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Badenoch further stated that not all cultures are equal. According to her, “some people may not like to hear that, but cultures where there’s child marriage, where homosexuals, gay people are treated criminally and killed—those are not equal cultures. I will not accept that.” She added that cultures where women are treated as lesser citizens should not be considered equal either. “When we have large numbers of people coming into a country, that does change things,” she said.
She also accused some immigrants of abusing the UK’s asylum system, stating that “we have people pretending, for instance, to be homosexual so that they can claim asylum, and then they go on to get married and have children. They’re abusing the laws that we have.” She claimed that others convert to Christianity solely to avoid deportation, saying, “the parish priests, they’re very excited—‘Oh, these Muslims want to convert to Christianity.’ They convert so that they can claim asylum and say, ‘If I went back to my country, I can be persecuted.’ This is exploitation of a system that was not designed for this sort of thing.”
Badenoch said she would not allow a Nigerian immigrant to come to the UK and try to create a “mini-Nigeria.” She emphasised that only immigrants who are net contributors to society would be welcome under her leadership—not those who rely on welfare or social housing.
