Kemi Badenoch says the Union is ‘not safe’ in Labour’s hands

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch is adamant that, despite Andy Burnham’s defence of the United Kingdom earlier this week, Labour is not serious about keeping the Union intact.

In fact, she told STV News on Friday that she believes Labour has taken Scotland closer to having more independence referendums.

The Conservative leader is referencing the Prime Minister’s gaffe at Prime Minister’s Questions, where he suggested that the situation in Scotland is ‘exactly the same’ as that in Ireland, where the conditions for a border poll on Irish unity are written into the Good Friday Agreement.

She’s also referring to recent comments by new Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra, who backed Scotland’s right to decide its future and went on to say that there has “always” been a route to a referendum but that the Scottish Government hadn’t built an “overwhelming” case for it.

Burnham has long been criticised for snubbing Scotland – after excluding it on his August summer ‘listening’ tour and delaying visits to Aberdeen until after the decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw have been made. But at Labour’s party conference earlier this week, the Prime Minister told attendees he believes in a United Kingdom that had introduced trade unions and the NHS to the world, and that had defeated fascism.

It was a more progressive argument for the Union than is generally made, with opponents of independence tending to rely on negative arguments about an independent Scotland’s economy and workforce. But Badenoch “absolutely” does not believe this makes Labour stronger than the Tories when it comes to defending the Union.

The future of the United Kingdom will be a key theme for the Scottish Conservatives at their upcoming party conference in Birmingham, which kicks off on Sunday. One of the first events to be held is titled ‘Resisting Separatism’. Shadow Scotland secretary Harriet Cross and Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay will make the case for the Union at a time when the main parties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are nationalists.

Another big theme of the Conservative party conference will be the North Sea – and the future of the UK’s energy production. It’s more topical than ever today amid concerns about global diesel supply, with the Iran war and issues with the Strait of Hormuz causing serious issues with supply.

As a result, diesel prices hit a record high on Friday. The US President has suggested he could stop exports of diesel and has asked European leaders to release emergency reserves. On this, Badenoch sent out a warning to her political opponents.

But do the Conservatives have the answer? It was a Tory government that brought in the energy profits levy – a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas giants – that has been blamed for driving away business from the North Sea. In fact, the unions have compared the oil and gas job losses in the North Sea to the decimation of the mining industry under Margaret Thatcher.

Badenoch doesn’t like this equivocation, saying: “Well, Margaret Thatcher actually did a lot for North Sea oil. It grew very much when she was prime minister.”

While Badenoch has said that people who back net zero cannot stand to be Conservative candidates, she still believes in the need for renewables: “We need oil and gas, we need nuclear, we need renewables, we need to get serious. And right now, we have a lot of very silly people who are running energy policy, not just nationally with Labour but with the SNP.”

And a third key theme of the Conservative Party conference will be on welfare. The Tories say that if they get into power, those under the age of 25 must get a job or risk having their benefits cut. But Badenoch doesn’t want to follow Labour’s lead on reforming pensions – and doesn’t accept that’s inconsistent with her position as leader of an anti-welfare party.

Not everyone in her party agrees, with Conservative MPs privately advocating for the triple lock to go, which sees the state pension increase each year by the highest of inflation, average wage growth or 2.5%, without being the party responsible for it. But Badenoch says her stance is about ‘principles’, not votes.

Andy Burnham’s Labour Party has pledged to move the pension deal to a double lock after the next election – a deal that would still see pensions rise, but at a slower rate. Is Labour more serious than the Conservatives on welfare? “Not at all,” Badenoch replies. “They may have changed leader, but the party is still the same old Labour party. All they care about is welfare.”

Kemi Badenoch has laid out her stall on independence, energy and welfare ahead of her party’s annual conference. She hopes to be the next prime minister – but after her party’s dismal results in the Scottish elections in May, there is a lot of ground to make up.

Her party’s stance on oil and gas saw it win the Aberdeen South by-election from the SNP earlier this year – but the Tories have to broaden their appeal if they are to seriously contest the next general election.

Responding to Badenoch’s comments, a Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “This is the same old song from the Tories, who are every bit as desperate to divide Scotland as the SNP are.”