Archive · 6 Oct 2026
Badenoch Warns Separatist Communities Could Undermine UK Integration
Kemi Badenoch leads the Conservative Party in the UK.
She said people who move to Britain should take part in the country’s shared life and respect its norms.
She warned that separate communities that do not mix could harm the country.
She also admitted her party had promised to reduce immigration without having a plan to do it.
The comments came as the Conservatives held their annual conference.
A poll put the Conservatives behind Reform UK and Labour.
Labour chair Bridget Phillipson criticized Badenoch’s approach.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said migrants should join the country and respect British norms.
Speaking as the party’s annual conference began, she warned against “little ghettos” of separatist communities.
Badenoch said shared norms were needed in a high-trust country and were not solely the government’s responsibility.
In an essay published alongside the conference, she admitted the Conservatives had promised lower immigration without a delivery strategy.
A YouGov poll published September 29 put Reform UK on 25%, Labour on 24% and the Conservatives on 19%.
- Who
- Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch; Labour chair Bridget Phillipson also commented.
- What
- Badenoch warned that separatist communities could undermine integration and said migrants should join the country and respect British norms.
- When
- At the start of the Conservatives’ annual conference on Sunday; the cited YouGov poll was published September 29.
- Where
- The United Kingdom.
- Why
- Badenoch said shared norms help sustain a high-trust country; the Conservatives are also seeking to win back voters drawn to Reform UK.
Badenoch’s position
Labour’s criticism
Integration and shared norms
Badenoch’s position
Badenoch said migrants should join the country, respect British norms and avoid separatist communities that she warned could harm the UK.
Labour’s criticism
Phillipson said Badenoch wanted to drag the country back to a politics that had let many people down over the past 40 years.
Immigration record
Badenoch’s position
Badenoch acknowledged that the Conservatives promised lower immigration without a strategy for delivering it.
Labour’s criticism
The article reports that the government is seeking to make it harder for legal migrants to gain permanent settlement.
- Party leader
- Kemi Badenoch leads the Conservative Party.
- Conference
- Her remarks came at the start of the party’s annual conference.
- Essay
- Badenoch published a 95-page essay titled The Right Way.
- Immigration admission
- She wrote that the Conservatives promised lower immigration without a strategy to deliver it.
- YouGov poll
- Published September 29: Reform UK 25%, Labour 24%, Conservatives 19%.
- Labour response
- Bridget Phillipson said Badenoch wanted to return the country to a politics that had let many people down.
- Settlement policy
- The government is seeking to make it harder for legal migrants to gain permanent settlement.