Badenoch questions Mahmood’s stance on Palestine protests in conference speech

Kemi Badenoch used her main speech at the Conservative Party conference to question Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s tough stance on repeated pro-Palestine demonstrations.

Badenoch singled out Mahmood, recalling: “I remember when she lay down on the ground in front of Sainsbury’s protesting because they were selling food from Israel.”

She added a pointed joke: “She tries to convince us she’s tough… right.”

Badenoch continued her criticism by referencing Mahmood’s opposition to the deportation of foreign criminals, saying:

“So forgive me if I treat this newfound tough image with a little scepticism. I remember when Shabana Mahmood tried to stop foreign criminals from being deported.”

She then involved fellow ex-Tory cabinet minister Robert Jenrick, asking:”Do you remember that, Rob?”

In 2014, as she campaigned to protect shechita as a backbench MP, Mahmood also took part in a protest in her constituency against a Sainsbury’s branch accused of stocking goods manufactured in Israeli settlements.

In footage which her opponents have since pounced on, she boasted of shutting the store.

She was photographed with a Free Palestine sign, but since being promoted to government, as Justice and now as Home Secretary, she has adopted a tough stance on those who abuse the right to protest a pro-Palestine demos.

During Wednesday’s speech Badenoch also asserted her commitment to supporting small business owners, crime victims, farmers, and “people who work hard and do the right thing.”

Her big policy announcement was a pledge to abolish stamp duty.

She criticised her political rivals, stating: “Last year, the public voted for change, but all they have been given is change for the worse.

“Parties that in normal times would never be seen as a serious option for government are gaining ground, making promises they can never keep.”

Badenoch took aim at Reform, Jeremy Corbyn, and the Liberal Democrats, mocking their pledges, adding “Reform, promising free beer tomorrow; Jeremy Corbyn, promising free jam; Lib Dems, promising free lettuce; all of them promising more spending, blowing up the public finances.”

She argued that opposition leaders—Starmer, Farage, Corbyn, and Davey—were all relying on “the same magic money tree” and “failed playbook,” which she claimed would lead to “more government, more taxes, more debt.”

In further remarks, Badenoch set out her fiscal approach saying:”We have to get the deficit down, and we must also show how every tax cut or spending increase is paid for.

“So today, I am introducing a new golden economic rule: every pound we save will be put to work.

“At least half will go towards cutting the deficit… and with the rest, we will get Britain growing and bring down the taxes that are stifling our economy… That’s the Conservative way – responsibility today, opportunity tomorrow.”