Questions African involvement in slave trade and warns Commonwealth leaders against demanding compensation.
British Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has rejected demands for slavery reparations and another formal apology from Britain, questioning whether Caribbean countries seeking compensation for the transatlantic slave trade would also demand apologies from the descendants of African kingdoms, rulers and merchants who participated in it.
Badenoch argued that contemporary British taxpayers should not be held financially responsible for historical injustices committed generations before their birth, while criticising political leaders in Commonwealth countries who continue to press Britain for compensation.
She maintained that discussions about slavery should acknowledge the involvement of different societies in the trade rather than focusing exclusively on Britain’s historical responsibility.
“Slavery was an evil in which people from every continent and region participated. We should be honest about the whole history, not select the parts that are politically convenient today, especially given Britain’s leading role in ending the transatlantic slave trade,” Badenoch said.
The Conservative leader questioned whether Caribbean countries demanding a formal apology from Britain were prepared to extend similar demands to the descendants of African leaders and merchants involved in the enslavement and sale of people.
“If Caribbean countries are asking Britain for a formal apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, will they also be asking the same of the descendants of African kingdoms, rulers and merchants who captured, sold and profited from the trade?” she asked.
Badenoch also opposed proposals for reparations through direct financial compensation or debt cancellation, arguing that previous international debt relief initiatives had failed to prevent beneficiary countries from accumulating fresh liabilities.
She cited the Jubilee 2000, Drop the Debt and Make Poverty History campaigns, which advocated debt cancellation for poorer countries, as examples of initiatives that had not delivered lasting solutions to indebtedness.
“Twenty-five years ago, Jubilee 2000, Drop the Debt and Make Poverty History argued that cancelling the debts of poorer countries would give them a fresh start. More than $100 billion of debt was eventually written off, but many of those countries have since built up even bigger debts,” she stated.
The Conservative leader argued that Britain’s Labour government was already spending excessively on domestic welfare and should not commit additional public resources to international reparations.
“Labour are already spending too much on Britain’s welfare state, now is not the time for Andy Burnham to be providing global welfare,” Badenoch said.
She maintained that financial responsibility for slavery should not be transferred to British citizens who had no involvement in the historical trade.
“There is no reason British taxpayers today should be held financially responsible for things that happened generations before any of us were born,” she declared.
Badenoch went further, criticising political leaders in Commonwealth countries whom she accused of invoking Britain’s colonial and slavery history rather than addressing contemporary economic challenges.
“And I have even less patience for political elites in commonwealth countries who don’t know how to make their own citizens prosperous now looking for another opportunity to blame Britain,” she said.
Her remarks also targeted Andy Burnham, whom she criticised over his position on confronting Britain’s historical involvement in slavery and the possibility of issuing another formal apology.
Badenoch argued that Britain’s political leadership should prioritise defending the country’s interests rather than reopening debates over historical responsibility.
“As Prime Minister, Andy Burnham should be Britain’s greatest defender. Instead, he is writing articles saying we need to confront our history (as if we haven’t done enough of that) and considering another formal historical apology,” she stated.
She maintained that Britain had already acknowledged its involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, citing former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s expression of sorrow and regret nearly two decades earlier.
“Tony Blair already expressed Britain’s deep sorrow and regret for our role in the slave trade nearly twenty years ago. There is no need to do so again,” Badenoch said.
The Conservative leader described the renewed debate over apologies and reparations as a distraction from what she considered more pressing priorities for Britain and its Commonwealth partners.
“This is all another navel-gazing distraction. The Commonwealth should be looking forward, not endlessly backwards,” she stated.
Badenoch called for greater emphasis on economic partnerships, trade and defence cooperation, arguing that Commonwealth countries should focus on opportunities capable of improving prosperity and addressing shared security challenges.
“That means economic partnerships to make us all richer and deeper military and security cooperation against common threats,” she said.
She also questioned the continued value of Commonwealth summits if demands for financial compensation became a recurring feature of the gatherings.
“If every Commonwealth summit becomes an exercise in presenting Britain with demands for cash then we need to start asking if it is worth the effort,” Badenoch warned.
Her comments set out her opposition to demands for reparatory justice, including financial compensation and debt relief, while placing responsibility for historical slavery within a broader account of participation by European and African actors.
The statement did not address the arguments advanced by reparations campaigners concerning the long-term economic and social consequences of slavery or the distinction between historical participation in the trade and contemporary claims against states and institutions.
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