The UK political scene was thrown into turmoil on Sunday after Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, fiercely criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to officially recognise the State of Palestine.
Badenoch did not mince words, describing the move as “absolutely disastrous”. According to her, the recognition not only rewards terrorism but also abandons hostages still trapped in Gaza, while doing little to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.
In a strongly worded statement shared on her 𝕏 handle, Badenoch, who represents North West Essex, accused Starmer of lacking a clear national strategy. She alleged that the Labour leader was instead focused on satisfying “the hobby horses of the Labour left.”
“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,” she wrote.
The Conservative leader further linked Labour’s recognition of Palestine to what she called a broader trend of misplaced priorities. She listed failures in governance as evidence:
- 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.”*
Badenoch also revisited Starmer’s foreign policy record, highlighting the £35bn reparations to Mauritius and the surrender of the Chagos Islands, describing them as proof of poor judgment.
“Everything we are seeing is a consequence of a Prime Minister who has no plan for the country and no judgment. 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,” Badenoch declared.
Starmer Fires Back
In defence of his decision, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who represents Holborn and St Pancras, insisted that recognising Palestine was a step towards reviving peace efforts in the region.
“The UK’s recognition of Palestine is aimed at reviving the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution,” Starmer stated earlier.
The announcement has triggered heated debate across the political spectrum, underscoring the deep divisions within Britain’s foreign policy direction.
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