FULL ADDRESS: Kemi Badenoch Challenges Government During King’s Speech Debate in Parliament — AC14

[0:02] The question is that the humble address be presented to His Majesty as follows. [0:08] Most gracious Sovereign, we, Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, [0:16] the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, [0:21] in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Majesty [0:26] for the gracious speech which Your Majesty has addressed to both Houses of Parliament. [0:31] I now call the Leader of the Opposition, Right Honourable Kemi Ben. [0:36] Thank you, Mr Speaker. [0:43] This King's speech is taking place against the most extraordinary backdrop. [0:50] We knew the carriages were booked, the horses were ready, the King was coming, [0:55] but would we have a Prime Minister? [0:58] So, Mr Speaker, it is such an honour to be the Leader of the Opposition who gets to respond today. [1:05] May I start by congratulating the proposer and seconder of the Loyal Address on their excellent speeches? [1:14] And can I also congratulate the Whips for finding two backbenchers prepared to support the Prime Minister at this time? [1:21] The Honourable Member for Bradford West gave a moving and funny speech. [1:28] I especially appreciated her comments about black and brown faces on TV, [1:34] or as my children say, oh look, it's mummy again. [1:39] She only touched lightly on the fact that she is someone who has faced one of the most challenging childhoods imaginable, [1:46] and yet through the strength of her character has made it to this place. [1:50] She is made of tough stuff, and that is something we need more of in this House. [1:56] Anyone who can boast of chewing up and spitting out George Galloway in an election is clearly formidable. [2:08] I also congratulate the Member for Harlow on successfully delivering a humorous and warm-hearted speech. [2:15] As he noted, he is my constituency neighbor, and he also, yes, did run the London Marathon last month, [2:23] raising money for St Clare Hospice, which cares for both our constituents, [2:26] and so I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for doing that. [2:30] So I've become a big fan of his after listening to his speech, [2:33] especially after he was so generous in his comments about the Harlow Conservative's successful election campaign, [2:39] and my councillor's outstanding work regenerating the town centre. [2:43] And I would say to him, if things on that side of the House are getting a bit much, [2:48] he would be very welcome to cross the floor and help Conservatives carry on that work. [2:54] Mr Speaker, I think we can say that the proposer and seconder of the Loyal Address [2:58] have upheld the best traditions of the House. [3:03] I would, of course, like to pay tribute to His Majesty the King. [3:08] His Majesty has served through a period of great personal difficulty, [3:11] and throughout he has exemplified the virtues of grace, dignity, humour, modesty and resolve in the face of adversity. [3:22] Virtues which were on full display during his hugely successful state visits to the United States. [3:28] And I'm sure the whole House will have admired his skilful speech to Congress. [3:32] It was a speech full of the wisdom and courage needed for our times. [3:36] Of course, we would never have got to hear it if we'd listened to some people in this House [3:41] who called for the King's visits to be cancelled. [3:44] But thank goodness no one listens to the leader of the Liberal Democrats. [3:48] For the Prime Minister, when he was young, he called for the end of the monarchy. [4:02] So I'm glad that the Right Honourable and Learned Gentleman has seen the error of his ways, [4:07] because previous King Charleses took a much dimmer view of that kind of thing. [4:10] I'm only sorry that this newfound appreciation of the monarchy and our country's traditions have come too late, [4:19] because this is the first parliamentary session ever without the hereditary peers. [4:23] And their departure will be keenly felt, will be keenly felt, and our Parliament will be poorer for it. [4:33] Especially, especially, Mr. Speaker, when you consider some of the people that Labour have been replacing them with. [4:41] People who've already had the whip removed before they've even taken their seats. [4:47] Mr. Speaker, I know the Convention is for this to be a light-hearted debate. [4:52] But as I've already said, this is a highly unusual moment. [4:58] The Prime Minister is in office, but not in power. [5:02] Everyone is trying to pretend it's all right. [5:05] It's not all right. [5:07] In the past 48 hours, nearly 100 Labour MPs have called for the Prime Minister to resign. [5:15] Four ministers have quit. [5:18] It is clear his authority has gone, and that he will not be able to deliver what little there is in this King's speech. [5:26] This is a government less than two years in office, which has already run out of ideas and run out of road. [5:33] So how did we get here? [5:36] There is a great line in the musical Hamilton, Mr. Speaker. [5:39] Winning is easy. [5:41] Governing is harder. [5:43] Everything that has gone wrong in Labour's first two years comes back to one problem. [5:50] They came into office with no plan. [5:52] They did not understand the difference between winning an election and governing a country. [5:57] It was very easy to make promises in opposition, promises to freeze council tax, promises to take £300 off energy bills, promises to the waspy women. [6:08] Hundreds of Labour MPs took photos with them to post on their Facebook pages and their websites and their election leaflets. [6:15] But at no point did they bother to think, how would they deliver any of it? [6:19] They did not spend their time in opposition thinking deeply about the country's problems. [6:25] They assumed that governing in the 2020s would be like governing in the 1990s. [6:30] But it is not. [6:32] Britain is facing new structural problems. [6:36] We have an ageing... [6:38] Mr. Speaker, they will shout at me. [6:48] I know they cannot wait to get back to their plotting. [6:50] But it is quite important that we hear what is going to be said. [6:54] Because we have an ageing population, a falling birth rate and a welfare bill that is spiralling out of control. [7:02] We have an information revolution in the shape of AI that threatens to unravel the world of work as we know it. [7:09] And the cost of energy is driving industry out of the country. [7:13] Labour were taken by surprise that we are living in a more competitive and increasingly hostile world. [7:20] Their manifesto was just a set of misleading promises. [7:23] They promised no new taxes on working people. [7:27] Failed. [7:27] They promised to crack down on illegal immigration. [7:30] Failed. [7:31] They promised to tread more lightly on people's lives. [7:35] Epic fail. [7:36] They made promises without knowing how anything works. [7:40] Let's look at housing. [7:42] Just after Labour took office, when I was Shadow Housing Secretary, [7:45] I stood at this dispatch box and warned the former Deputy Prime Minister that she had been stitched up. [7:52] That the 1.5 million new homes Labour promised had been hung like a millstone around her neck. [7:59] I knew that they wouldn't be able to meet that target because they didn't understand why more houses weren't being built. [8:06] Sure enough, they are already more than a third down on their target and well behind what we delivered. [8:14] Of course, Mr Speaker, in the end, it wasn't 1.5 million homes that did for the former Deputy Prime Minister. [8:22] It took just one flat in Brighton to bring her down. [8:25] Mr Speaker, it is so obvious. [8:31] It is so obvious. [8:33] I know they don't want to hear it, Mr Speaker. [8:36] But this... [8:37] I know they don't want to hear it. [8:39] Look at them. [8:40] They are so arrogant. [8:41] They want to lead our country. [8:42] They can't even lead a coup. [8:44] It is so obvious, Mr Speaker, that they cannot handle being in government. [8:51] They cannot handle it. [8:51] They hate the responsibility. [8:53] They hate having to take tough decisions. [8:55] They prefer scratching the itches that they had in opposition, giving inflation-busting pay rises to the unions. [9:03] 28% for the doctors who are still striking. [9:08] Nearly two years, they are still striking. [9:11] Handing out more benefits to the only people who will still vote for them because Labour don't understand that poverty isn't created by a lack of benefits. [9:21] It's created by a failing economy. [9:23] In defence, Mr Speaker, we spent the last session listening to Labour MPs telling us how great everything was going. [9:33] No doubt we will hear lots of grandstanding speeches this week telling us what a fantastic job they did. [9:40] How absurd, given the number of them demanding that the Prime Minister stands down. [9:45] We counted, Mr Speaker, there were 24 U-turns in that first parliamentary session. [9:51] Winter fuel, family farms, grooming gangs, welfare reforms, social media for under-16s, day-one workers' rights. [9:58] The list goes on and on. [10:00] And every single one of these U-turns had at its core a single issue. [10:05] The Prime Minister's total lack of judgment. [10:08] This is a man who faced with a crisis of vision, charisma and electoral success sent for Gordon Brown. [10:19] Leadership, Mr Speaker, is about having a vision for this country. [10:25] It's about having the courage to take difficult decisions. [10:29] Persuading your party that those difficult decisions will pay off in time. [10:36] And taking responsibility for your mistakes. [10:40] He has failed on every count. [10:43] We've had pillars, promises, four-point plans, five-point plans, missions, none of it achieving anything. [10:50] Reset after reset after reset. [10:53] Even if the Prime Minister does last long enough in office to deliver this gracious speech, [10:59] the bills announced today do not remotely come close to what the country needs. [11:05] I know that they're chanting, Mr Speaker. [11:07] Not a single one of them actually dares to intervene on me in this speech. [11:12] I do, Mr Speaker, however, want to welcome, [11:15] I do want to welcome the government's ongoing support to Ukraine and its commitment to NATO. [11:21] In this increasingly dangerous world, it is more important than ever that we stand with our allies in the fight against tyranny. [11:30] I also commend the government for its commitment to speed up the delivery of infrastructure such as new nuclear. [11:37] Too many governments have been frustrated in their attempts to deliver nuclear projects quickly [11:42] and we will support efforts to make this process simpler, faster and cheaper. [11:48] I also want to be generous to the Home Secretary because I can see that she is trying to do something about illegal immigration. [12:00] But the elephant in the room is that she almost certainly won't be Home Secretary for much longer. [12:08] Sadly, no one else in the Labour Party looks remotely interested in bringing down illegal immigration. [12:14] The rest of this offering in the King's speech, Mr Speaker, makes it clear that they have learned no lessons from their mistakes in government so far. [12:23] All we have is a load of re-announced policies, [12:26] hounding our brave veterans through the courts, [12:29] legislating for digital ID, a policy they told us they dropped, [12:33] banning trail hunting, just more class war that makes no one's life better, [12:38] scrapping NHS England, something the Prime Minister announced 14 months ago. [12:43] But then I suppose the Health Secretary has been a bit distracted lately, hasn't he? [12:47] Yeah, hasn't he? [12:50] He's chanting now, why don't you just do your job? [12:53] Do your job. [12:54] Even worse, Mr Speaker, even worse, Mr Speaker, [12:58] is what isn't in the gracious speech. [13:01] There's no point in him giving me dirty looks. [13:02] We all know what he's been up to. [13:08] It's what isn't in the gracious speech. [13:14] There is no defence readiness bill because apparently it isn't ready. [13:19] Where are the plans for welfare reform? [13:22] There are none because Labour MPs blocked them. [13:25] Where is the plan to make savings? [13:27] There isn't one because Labour don't know how to make savings. [13:31] They only know how to spend money, other people's money. [13:35] Where is the plan to support businesses? [13:38] There isn't one because they don't understand [13:40] that it is business that creates growth, not government. [13:43] They have no answers to what really matters, [13:47] the problems that must be solved to get Britain working again. [13:50] Now, Mr Speaker, I will say that I do feel very sorry for Labour backbenchers. [13:56] I do. I do. [13:58] They arrived here not that... [14:01] It's true, I do feel sorry for Labour backbenchers. [14:04] They arrived here not that long ago with such high hopes. [14:09] Some of them, in fact, were so talented, [14:12] they were made ministers before ever speaking a word in Parliament. [14:16] So talented. [14:17] Although one of them has just resigned. [14:19] I mustn't forget that. [14:19] One of them has just resigned. [14:21] We have watched, Mr Speaker, their growing horror, [14:24] day after day, week after week, [14:26] as this hope descended into total chaos. [14:29] The dread, as they are sent out yet again to defend the indefensible. [14:34] The injustice at feeling like pariahs in their own constituencies. [14:39] Banned from pubs. [14:41] Banned from hairdressers. [14:42] Which is presumably why all the women on the front bench [14:46] have the same hairstyle. [14:48] The realisation, Mr Speaker, [14:51] that their legacy is just going to be... [14:58] Now, I wasn't... [14:59] They can complain as much as they like. [15:00] I wasn't expecting this to be comfortable for them. [15:04] They're the ones who are trying to unseat their Prime Minister. [15:06] They should face that. [15:07] The realisation, Mr Speaker, [15:09] that their legacy is just going to be [15:12] breakfast clubs and Peter Mandelson. [15:16] Labour MPs have been treated as disposable by their leadership. [15:20] Sacked for backing the two-child benefit cap. [15:23] Sacked for opposing welfare changes. [15:26] Sacked for supporting farmers. [15:27] The Prime Minister then you turned on all of them. [15:31] It must be tough when you take a principled stand [15:34] and have the whip removed [15:35] only for the governments to confirm six months later [15:38] that they agreed with you all along. [15:41] It is no wonder, Mr Speaker, [15:44] that nearly 100 Labour MPs [15:46] have now called for the Prime Minister to go. [15:48] I know that there's another 100 [15:51] who claim to be supporting him, [15:52] although some of them didn't even know [15:54] that their names were on that list. [15:57] When you can only get a quarter of your MPs [16:00] to publicly back you, [16:01] the game is up. [16:03] And so the starting gun [16:04] for the later leadership contest has been fired. [16:07] So let's have a look at the runners and riders. [16:09] We have the former Deputy Prime Minister, [16:16] Mr Stafika, [16:17] former Deputy Prime Minister, [16:19] who has given up vaping. [16:20] She's not here. [16:21] She's given up vaping, [16:22] but still hasn't paid her taxes. [16:24] We have the Health Secretary, [16:26] who accidentally sent his takeover plans to Number 10, [16:30] almost as incompetent as leaving them on the photocopier. [16:32] LAUGHTER [16:33] Mr Speaker, [16:43] the Mayor of Manchester. [16:46] The Mayor of Manchester, Mr Speaker, [16:48] a self-proclaimed winner, [16:50] a self-proclaimed winner [16:51] who has twice failed to win the Labour leadership, [16:54] including against the member for Islington North. [16:57] LAUGHTER [16:57] As one Labour MP said [17:00] about all the candidates in this race, [17:03] and I quote, [17:04] we have to face up to the fact [17:05] every single one of them is, [17:08] I apologise, Mr Speaker, [17:10] F star, star, star, star, star, star, useless. [17:14] LAUGHTER [17:14] I do feel sorry for the poor Labour MPs [17:17] who will now be subjected [17:18] to months of peacocking by leadership candidates [17:22] while the country is not being governed. [17:26] I have some advice for whichever of them [17:29] eventually takes over. [17:31] Getting to Number 10 [17:33] is not an award for being in a game show. [17:35] This is not strictly come dancing. [17:38] And despite appearances, [17:39] it's not traitors either. [17:40] LAUGHTER [17:41] If you are a Housing Secretary [17:43] who can't work out her housing taxes, [17:45] if you are a Health Secretary [17:46] who can only cut waiting lists [17:48] by deleting names from the waiting list, [17:50] if you are Gordon Brown's [17:52] former Chief Secretary to the Treasury [17:54] and you think the bond markets are a hoax, [17:57] I can assure you [17:58] that being Prime Minister [17:59] is going to be a lot tougher. [18:02] Too many have failed [18:03] because they thought winning an election [18:05] or a leadership contest [18:06] was the success. [18:08] It is not. [18:09] The work doesn't end when you get the job. [18:11] That's where it starts. [18:14] It is absolutely preposterous [18:17] that the government is here [18:18] laying out a programme [18:20] as its ministers are resigning [18:22] and a large proportion of the party [18:24] is saying that the Prime Minister needs to go. [18:27] The whole thing is totally illogical. [18:30] Either Labour MPs agree with this agenda, [18:33] in which case, [18:33] why are they trying to get rid of the Prime Minister? [18:36] Or they don't agree with this agenda, [18:37] in which case, [18:38] what on earth are we all doing here? [18:40] It is time to be brutally honest, [18:46] Mr Speaker. [18:47] It is time to be brutally honest. [18:48] The country is angry [18:50] with the entire political class. [18:53] All of us here. [18:54] They are not happy. [20:18] The collective is a symptom of the problem, [20:20] but would she agree that [20:21] what she and he both has in common [20:23] is that she very loosely agreed [20:25] that we should race into war [20:27] with America in Iran. [20:29] Then just a week later, [20:31] she thought maybe that's not such a good idea. [20:34] And doesn't that prove [20:34] why she and he are totally unsuitable [20:37] on this big other side of the House? [20:39] That was a nice try. [20:42] It's not going to work. [20:43] So, you cannot solve these problems, [20:45] Mr Speaker. [20:46] You cannot solve [20:48] the problems of the country [20:50] unless you have a plan [20:52] to fix the civil service, [20:54] the regulators, [20:55] the legislative straitjackets, [20:57] powers transferred [20:58] from Parliament to the courts. [20:59] Unless you fix structures of government, [21:03] everyone will continue to fail. [21:05] Britain is not ungovernable [21:07] and it is not broken. [21:10] The reason we published [21:11] an alternative King's speech, [21:12] I'll say to the Honourable Lady [21:13] who was asking what the plan was, [21:15] we have published an alternative King's speech, [21:16] is because we need to take tough decisions [21:20] to get the country out of the mess we're in. [21:24] Cutting wasteful spending, [21:25] funding defence, [21:26] securing our borders, [21:27] reducing the cost of energy. [21:29] If you want to bring down [21:31] bills for families [21:32] and bring industry [21:33] back to this country, [21:34] you need a plan [21:35] to scrap the net zero legislation [21:37] strangling industry [21:39] and making energy costs higher. [21:42] That's why we're proposing [21:43] a cheap energy bill [21:44] to do just that. [21:46] If you want businesses [21:47] to employ people, [21:48] you need to stop crushing them [21:50] with thousands of pages [21:51] of employment laws [21:53] and stop handing power [21:55] to the unions. [21:55] You need to stop hammering businesses [21:59] with tax rises. [22:00] That's why we're proposing [22:01] a Get Britain Working Bill [22:03] that would scrap laws [22:04] that are no longer fit for purpose [22:05] and are killing jobs. [22:07] If you want to get a grip [22:09] on illegal immigration [22:10] and remove foreign criminals [22:12] from the country, [22:13] you must have a plan [22:14] to leave the ECHR [22:16] and repeal [22:17] the Human Rights Act. [22:19] You must. [22:19] Efforts to get control [22:21] of our borders [22:22] have been frustrated [22:23] because power has been taken [22:25] out of the hands of ministers. [22:27] We need to bring that power back [22:29] so that we don't have murderers [22:31] staying in our country [22:32] because the courts [22:33] stop us from deporting them. [22:36] Our Alternative King speech [22:38] shows how it can be done, [22:39] letting the government, [22:41] not the courts, [22:42] decide who comes and goes. [22:44] Prime Ministers are going to keep [22:47] running into problems [22:49] until they deal [22:50] with activist lawyers [22:52] and international agreements [22:54] that tie the government's hands [22:55] against the interests [22:56] of the British public. [22:58] Oh, Mr. Speaker, [22:58] they're chantering, [22:59] they're chantering that it's... [23:01] Mr. Speaker, [23:03] they're chantering, [23:04] they're chantering that it's... [23:05] Does someone want to stand up [23:07] and tell us who they're supporting? [23:08] Is it the plotters or the PM? [23:10] Is it? [23:10] Because I know [23:11] that's what they really want to get to. [23:13] They're not interested [23:13] in hearing what a plan [23:15] for the country should be [23:15] because they're too focused [23:17] on Labour Party problems. [23:19] Mr. Speaker, [23:20] we will keep running [23:21] into these problems [23:21] until they deal [23:23] with activist lawyers [23:24] and international agreements [23:26] that tie the government's hands [23:27] against the interests [23:28] of the British public. [23:30] Next, [23:31] we must reduce welfare spending. [23:34] It is eating every penny [23:35] that we generate [23:36] in income tax and more. [23:38] We must spend much more [23:39] on defence. [23:41] Even former Labour defence sectaries [23:43] are pleading [23:44] with the government [23:45] to do this. [23:45] That's why we're proposing [23:47] a sovereign defence fund [23:48] which will overhaul [23:49] Britain's defence industrial base. [23:51] That's what the alternative could be. [23:54] That alternative king's speech [23:55] makes difficult choices [23:57] because that is what leadership is. [24:00] We have laid out these plans now [24:03] because we are more than happy [24:05] for Labour to take them. [24:07] They might be our political opponents, [24:09] Mr. Speaker, [24:09] but we are all citizens [24:12] of this country. [24:13] We recognise the enormous challenges [24:16] facing Britain. [24:17] We want to see these problems solved [24:20] and so do our constituents. [24:25] Time and again, [24:26] I have offered the Prime Minister support [24:28] to pass difficult legislation. [24:30] Time and again, [24:37] I have offered the Prime Minister support [24:39] to pass difficult legislation. [24:41] Time and again, [24:42] he has turned it down. [24:44] It might be too late for him now, [24:46] but it's not too late [24:47] for his successor. [24:48] It is time to get serious. [24:51] It is time to deliver. [24:53] That is what the British public expect. [24:55] That is what the Conservative Party will do. [24:58] Call the Prime Minister, [25:03] Sir Kirsten.