Kemi Badenoch Hits Back at Reform Over Debate About Whether Her Mixed-Race Children Are 'English'

Kemi Badenoch delivered her keynote address at the Conservative Party Autumn Conference in Birmingham on 7 October 2026. Her speech took a personal turn when she discussed how Reform UK figures were questioning Britons' identities because of the colour of their skin.

'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,' said Badenoch, who was born Olukemi Olufunto 'Kemi' Adegoke in Wimbledon, London, to parents of Nigerian origin.

First Black Conservative Leader

Badenoch studied Computer Systems Engineering at the University of Sussex and gained her law degree from Birkbeck, University of London. She worked in the IT sector while studying law, then became a systems analyst at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group and later a digital director for The Spectator.

She was 25 when she joined the Conservative Party in 2005. Badenoch became an MP in 2017. In 2022, she put her name forward to succeed Boris Johnson after he resigned, but lost in the fourth round of voting.

Badenoch finally became Conservative Party leader in 2024, defeating MP Robert Jenrick in the final vote with 56.5 per cent of the vote. The 46-year-old is married to banker Hamish Badenoch, and they have three children together, two daughters and a son.

'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,' Badenoch said, addressing race in her keynote address. 'I remember back in the day when Ian Wright and John Barnes were playing, nobody was questioning whether they were English.'

Why Badenoch Mentioned Race

'We certainly didn't have sitting MPs questioning whether they were English. We must not let these people take us backwards. That is not the country we are. Reform MPs are openly questioning people's identity,' Badenoch also said.

Some Reform UK figures have made pointed statements about race. MP Suella Braverman, for example, said that she is British but not English because describing herself as English would deny her Asian heritage.

'My family and ancestors have a link to Britain which spans centuries. But in no way are we English. Yes, I was born in England, speak English and support the England football team. And indeed, I love England and the English people,' Braverman, who is of Indian descent, said.

Zia Yusuf, also of Reform UK, made a pointed post about Sagal Abdi-Wali, a former child refugee from Somalia and the leader of Camden Council, who was selected to replace Keir Starmer as the Labour candidate in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.

Social Media Comments

Comments on Badenoch's speech about race highlighted the sensitivity of the issue in Britain. An account with 155,000 followers said: 'She is an African and her children are not English.'

Another account with more than 129,000 followers said: 'Kemi Badenoch is Nigerian. Her children are half Scottish. Bukayo Saka is Nigerian. I am very tired of this stupid conversation. We're not playing this game anymore. You're not claiming my identity and giving it to foreigners.'

'Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch is not English. This is just a statement of fact,' an account with more than 20,000 followers also said.