Not all cultures are equal, Kemi Badenoch says

Not all cultures are “equally valid” when it comes to immigration, and failing to recognise that is “naive”, Kemi Badenoch has said.

The Tory leadership candidate said that most politicians shy away from talking about immigration “in terms of culture as opposed to economics” as they fear it is “too controversial”.

Ms Badenoch explained that culture is “more than cuisine or clothes” but is also “customs which may be at odds with British values”.

In an article for The Telegraph, she said: “We cannot be naïve and assume immigrants will automatically abandon ancestral ethnic hostilities at the border, or that all cultures are equally valid. They are not.

“I am struck, for example, by the number of recent immigrants to the UK who hate Israel.  That sentiment has no place here.”

Emphasising her own immigrant background, Ms Badenoch said that many stay away from discussing the issues around culture for “fear of being labelled xenophobic”.

Her remarks come ahead of the Conservative party conference which will be dominated by the leadership race. Ms Badenoch along with the other contenders – Robert Jenrick, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat – will set out their stall to party members before another knock-out round of MP votes the following week.

Ms Badenoch was born in south-west London to Nigerian parents and spent much of her childhood in Nigeria’s capital city Lagos before returning to the UK with her family aged 16.

“We must recognise that the world has changed,” she said. “When I moved back to this country 30 years ago, it was  impossible to communicate quickly with my family.

“Letters would take weeks to arrive, I had to schedule calls with the few people who had working telephones let alone mobiles. Today’s immigrants, even those arriving on boats, come with WhatsApp and Instagram.

“Their feet may be in the UK, but their heads and hearts are still back in their country of origin. We need an integration strategy that takes this into account.”

She said that as well as an immigration strategy, an integration strategy is needed, adding: “We must never allow our tolerance to be taken advantage of by those who arrive, only to undermine the very values that have allowed us to succeed.”