UK could see French-style riots unless economy improves says Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has told GB News that the UK could face the type of riots seen in France unless the government takes steps to boost economic growth.

She also said former Conservatives who have been suspended by Reform UK would not be welcomed back into the party, and declined to commit to unfreezing income tax thresholds if she became Prime Minister.

Asked about lowering tax thresholds, in an interview with GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope, she said: “The promise I am making is sound money, fiscal responsibility, fiscal credibility. Unlike other parties, I don’t make promises until I know exactly how I am going to deliver on those promises.

“We made those mistakes before. Conservatives promising all sorts of things, and you have told me the GB News viewers were unhappy about that. What I want them to know is that we understand that there’s a lot of pressure on the cost of living. We want to bring that pressure down.

“We’ve got to start with cutting spending because that tax money is being spent mostly on welfare. Let’s bring the welfare budget down, and then let’s look at taxes to grow the economy.”

On the Chancellor apparently ruling out a rise in capital gains tax, she said: “Yes, let’s hope that they stick to that. I’m still expecting tax rises in this budget, but capital gains tax actually stops people from investing, taking a risk, starting a business, and that’s how we create jobs.

“That’s how we increase salaries, and I want to see people’s salaries increase. That will make a huge difference. So let’s hope that capital gains tax stays where it is.”

Asked about controversial remarks reportedly made by Reform UK figures, she said: “Well, it looks like all the bad apples have rolled into Reform. I always said that Nigel Farage was doing my spring cleaning for me. I don’t think a lot of people understood what I meant. But honestly, with some of those people in the parliamentary party too, the MPs, I was quite glad that they were taking their problems with them.

“None of those people would be allowed back into the Conservative Party. The people making those remarks, the MPs. We need new people because this is a new party under new management.

“What I have said is that if I found anyone doing anything like that, they would be out the door before their feet touch the floor, but the culture starts from the top, and it’s quite clear that many of those people thought it was all right to be like that in Reform. Conservatives know that that won’t be all right with me.”

On the prospect of French-style civil unrest in the UK over the cost of living, she said: “I do worry that things like that could happen here. We’ve already seen protests flaring up across the country. That is why it is very important that we get our economy growing again.

“People are feeling poorer, but there is also a flip side to this: our economic problems and our cultural problems are two sides of the same coin.

“If you tell young people that their country is terrible, that it’s okay to hate their country, that Britain is a racist place, and end up going on about imperialism and all sorts of – white privilege and all of that rubbish, then you see them burning down churches and the things that, spraying graffiti on war memorials, and that’s why I always intervene.

“Some people will say that, ‘Oh, why are you getting involved in culture wars?’ I will fight for British culture. It’s very important.”

She went on to say that one of her children wants to enlist with the military: “My son has already said that he wants to join the army. He’s only 10 years old, so I don’t think that he actually knows what it means, and he probably wouldn’t be signing up soon. Maybe I should get him into cadets or something, or something like that.

“But what the head of the Army said was very concerning. I think a lot of people don’t realise that the hybrid warfare is already happening. We had a power plant shut down reportedly by Iran. We saw that attack on RAF Fairford. We’ve seen what Russia has been doing with the shadow fleet, and we know that there is war on this continent, what Russia is doing to Ukraine?

“War could be coming, and we, as a country, need to get ready, not just sit on benefits and hope that something magical will happen to make it go away.”

Asked if she would object to someone playing music via the loudspeakers of their phone on a bus, she said: “I have. I’ve even done so in the past. I think with young people in particular, when they see a firm adult, they actually do show respect. What’s happened now is that so many people are scared of intervening, and it’s because they’ve seen things go wrong where someone intervenes and then they get into trouble. They get into trouble for it.

“Nobody likes to hear music being blasted loudly on trains, but I do worry that the Prime Minister is focusing on something that is already pretty much against the rules. There are fines in place. What I worry about is enforcement.

“Why are people not enforcing that? And it’s because the ticket inspectors are scared. The train drivers don’t want to get involved…

“Turn it down. But it’s a culture thing. People think that they can get away with it. We need to bring back consequences for bad behaviour.”