Wednesday, September 23, 2026

UK stagnating, unskilled immigrants adding to pressure: Kemi Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK Conservative Party, said on Wednesday that Britain is stagnating while other countries are moving forward.

• October 8, 2025
Badenoch
Badenoch(Photo Credit:BBC)

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK Conservative Party, said on Wednesday that Britain is stagnating while other countries are moving forward.

Ms Badenoch at the Tories’ conference on Wednesday lamented that the influx of hundreds of thousands of unskilled immigrants and their dependents into the UK is putting pressure on the public sector.

“Britain is stagnating while the world around us moves on,”  Ms Badenoch said. “We are competing with restless and ambitious countries around the world. We are competing with a billion people in India, striving to become middle-class. We are competing with economic success stories like Poland. Fifteen years ago, Polish workers came here to find opportunity. Now, Poland is growing twice as fast as we are. While Britain was redefining what a woman is, China was building five nuclear reactors.”

Lamenting the influx of immigrants and their dependents into the UK, the Tory leader said, “We are accepting hundreds of thousands of people, some with many dependents, some with no skills at all.”

For Ms Badenoch, the UK’s “broken immigration model is heaping pressure on our public sector, a public sector which already, every year, demands more and more and more of our money, yet services don’t get better, they get worse”.

The Tory leader doubled down on her threat to deport 750,000 illegal immigrants in five years if her party returns to power. 

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

L-R: Samuel Ortom, Abdulrahman Muhammad, Nyesom Wike, Senator Sam Anyanwu, and Mao Ohuabunwa.

Politics

PDP backs Wike working for Tinubu’s re-election amid clash with APC governors

“When he was offered this appointment, he wrote to the party at all levels, and the party unanimously accepted and asked him to go and represent the party,” said Mao Ohuabunwa.

Rescued FUDMA Students and Driver

States

Kidnapping: Six female students rescued from bandits in Katsina, says military

The ‌students were rescued along the Daye-Malufashi road in Danmusa council area after troops responded to a kidnapping incident at about 10:48 p.m. on Monday.

A photo of Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state wearing adire

Agriculture

Ogun: Urgent response advised amid African swine fever outbreak

Eustace Iyayi, special assistant to the livestock development minister, Idi Maiha, called for an emergency response to the African swine fever outbreak in Ogun.

Arabica coffee

Economy

Ethiopia seeks world’s largest producer of arabica coffee status

Ethiopia is modernising its coffee industry to become the world’s largest producer of arabica coffee.

Vietnamese EV plant

World

Vietnam now Southeast Asia’s largest electric-car market with 40% share

Vietnam became Southeast Asia’s largest electric-car market in 2025, with electric vehicles accounting for nearly 40 per cent of new-car sales, according to the IEA.

Tiawana Brown

Anti-Corruption

Charlotte City councilwoman Tiawana Brown, two daughters sentenced for COVID-19 loan fraud

Ms Brown will spend 10 months in prison and two years of supervised release, while her daughters, Tijema Brown, 32, and Antionette Rouse, 34, were also sentenced.