Badenoch vows no stamp duty, no 'mansion tax' and no inheritance tax on 'family homes' in 'battle for soul of the nation'
From the Newshound archive · first published 7 October 2026 · last updated 8 October 2026.
Kemi Badenoch declared she would rather fight a second consecutive general election than strike a deal with Nigel Farage's Reform UK, which she branded "neck deep in scandal.Kemi Badenoch with her daughters, after she rounded on Reform UK for questioning the children's Englishness, declaring: "Don't tell me my kids aren't English.Kemi Badenoch with her husband Hamish Badenoch, as she warned she would never form a coalition with Reform UK even in a hung parliament.Suella Braverman, whom Kemi Badenoch named among Reform UK defectors she says "cause problems" and will never be welcomed back to the Conservatives.
Nick Timothy, Tory shadow justice secretary, declared he 'hates' the niqab and burqa at a Conservative conference fringe event in Birmingham on Tuesday, comparing the garments to a 'ball and chain' that deliberately cuts women off from society. Speaking alongside Michael Gove at a Spectator event, Timothy said the coverings damage social trust not only for the women who wear them but for wider communities too.
Timothy also argued that state-funded schools which require pupils to wear the hijab are in breach of equality law.
He admitted he does not know whether the Conservative Party will back a formal ban on Islamic face veils under Kemi Badenoch's leadership.
Timothy acknowledged the issue was 'very tricky' given that Britain is 'an open society' where people should be free to make their own choices.
