The streets of Britain have turned into “theatres of intimidation”, Kemi Badenoch has warned in a speech to mark the opening of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.
Speaking just days after a terror attack at a synagogue in the city left two people dead, the Tory leader claimed extremism “has gone unchecked” in the UK.
She said this had manifested in Pro-Palestine protests, which are “in fact carnivals of hatred directed at the Jewish homeland”.
She cited the use of “asinine slogans” such as ‘Globalise the Intifada’, saying this “means nothing at all, if it doesn’t mean targeting Jewish people for violence”.
Ms Badenoch added: “So the message from this conference, from this party, from every decent and right-thinking person in this country must be that we will not stand for it any more. We cannot import and tolerate values hostile to our own.
“We must now draw a line and say that in Britain you can think what you like, and within the bounds of the law you can say what you like, but you have no right to turn our streets into the theatres of intimidation and we will not let you do so any more.“
Ms Badenoch has said she supports the government’s efforts to impose restrictions on repeat protests in light of the Manchester terror attack.
Nearly 500 people were arrested over protests supporting the proscribed group Palestine Action in central London on Saturday.
Demonstrators defied calls from political leaders, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, to reconsider the event out of respect for the grief of the British Jewish community.
The chief of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, also called for the event to be postponed, saying he was worried resources would be stretched and the ability of the force to protect communities would be compromised.
ECHR plan ‘not vague mush’
Elsewhere in her speech, Ms Badenoch spoke about her policy to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and carry out “ICE-style” deportations if she wins the next election.
She said that shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Alex Burghart will lead a review into a union-wide implementation of leaving the ECHR, so voters have “a clear, thorough and robust plan, not the vague mush that we see day in, day out from Labour, nor the vacuous posturing that we see day in, day out from Reform”.
The plan has been condemned by Former Conservative justice secretary and Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland, who lost his seat at the 2024 election.
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Active plot against Kemi Badenoch at this party conference in Manchester
“I have seen first-hand how deeply this issue touches our constitution, our Union, and our international standing. It would be a profound mistake to go down this path,” he wrote in an article for Conservative Home.
The comments reflect how the issue has long divided the party, with “one nation” moderates like Mr Buckland opposed to the idea of leaving the ECHR, and others seeing it as necessary to get a grip on illegal migration and tackle Reform UK.
In a sign she won’t shy away from that fight, Ms Badenoch told GB News earlier that every Conservative candidate must sign up to her plan to leave the ECHR, or they would be barred from standing at the next election.
‘Mountain to climb’
The Tories are languishing in the polls behind Reform and Labour after suffering their worst-ever defeat at the election last year.
Ms Badenoch, who was elected to lead the party last November, ended her speech acknowledging there was a “mountain to climb” but insisting she was up for the fight.
“Britain needs deep change. But I reject the politics that everything must go, that everything must be torn down, that everything is broken,” she said.
“If we leave it to Labour or Reform, Britain will be divided. Only the Conservatives can bring this country back together.
“So, I say to you all as we start our conference, yes, we have a mountain to climb, but we have a song in our hearts, and we are up for the fight.”
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