Conservative Party Leader, Kemi Badenoch, has strongly criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to formally recognise the State of Palestine, calling it “absolutely disastrous” and a policy that rewards terrorism while failing to address the plight of hostages in Gaza or the suffering of civilians trapped in the conflict.
In a post on her X platform on Sunday, September 21, Kemi Badenoch, MP for North West Essex, accused the Prime Minister of lacking a coherent plan for the country and instead pandering to “the hobby horses of the Labour left” to remain in power.
She wrote:
“Rewarding terrorism with no conditions whatsoever put in place for Hamas leaves hostages languishing in Gaza and does nothing to stop the suffering of innocent people caught in this war.”
Kemi Badenoch also linked Labour’s recognition of Palestine to what she described as a broader pattern of misplaced priorities, saying:
“They cannot fix the NHS, so they push assisted suicide. They cannot create jobs for young people, so they give them votes at 16. They cannot sort out immigration, but they will recognise Palestine instead.”
The Conservative leader further criticised Starmer’s foreign policy record, pointing to the payment of £35bn in reparations to Mauritius and the surrender of the Chagos Islands, which she portrayed as examples of weak judgement.
“Everything we are seeing is a consequence of a Prime Minister who has no plan for the country and no judgement,” she stated. “He will spend the next four years delivering the hobby horses of the Labour left to stay in power and leave a huge mess for us to clean up.”
