UK Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch - It's ‘Scam’ For Former British Colonies To Blame Their Underdevelopment On Colonialism

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13 days ago

In a recent video, the new UK Conservative Party leader said many countries claim the British Empire is responsible for their lack of socio-economic growth, but that the UK government should be celebrated for ending slave trade and not be seen as the bane of global development as propagated by some former British colonies.


She said: “There are many countries now who want to use guilt to try and exploit the UK. They asked for reparation. I saw it as a trade minister. It is not a culture war.


“I was at the WTO. I won’t name the minister from another country. And he was telling me we need to give up some of the things we were doing because of colonialism and they needed time to develop. These arguments are a scam. Don't fall for it.


“We need to make sure we put this country first, we work well with our neighbours, we work well with other countries. But we have to look after ourselves.



“There are many things the British Empire got wrong but there are many amazing things the British Empire also did. We need to be honest about it and stop pretending that it was all bad. The British Empire ended slavery, the Atlantic slave trade. We need to talk about that more.”



Similarly, Kemi Badenoch made headlines in April for her bold statement that the UK's wealth and economic success shouldn't be attributed solely to its colonial history or racial privilege. This statement sparked controversy, adding to the list of times Badenoch has been at the centre of public debate.



The lawmaker said: “It worries me when I hear people talk about wealth and success in the UK as being down to colonialism or imperialism or white privilege or whatever.



“It matters, because if people genuinely believe that the UK only grew and developed into an advanced economy because of exploitation and oppression, then the solutions they will devise will make our growth and productivity problem even worse.



“It matters in other countries too, because if developing nations do not understand how the west became rich, they cannot follow in its footsteps.”



“And it matters when, as your trade secretary, I go to the World Trade Organization conference negotiating on the UK’s behalf, and some of my counterparts spend the entire time in meetings talking about colonialism, blame the west for their economic difficulties, and make demands that would make all of us – not just in this country, but around the world – poorer,” she added.


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