🔥 Kemi Badenoch gives Angela Rayner and Labour a reality check.

Summary

In a speech, a member of parliament humorously and critically congratulates her colleague on becoming Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister. She highlights their similarities and differences, praises her colleague's achievement, and warns of the challenges ahead. She critiques the opposition's policies, predicts difficulties in meeting housing targets, and offers support while expressing skepticism about their plans. The speech underscores political rivalry, the complexities of governance, and the challenges of fulfilling ambitious promises.

Takeaways

• 🔸 The speaker and the Secretary of State have never met or spoken, despite being in the same House for seven years.
• 🔸 Both were born in 1980 and are perceived as younger than their age due to good skin and hair.
• 🔸 The speaker congratulates the Secretary of State on her elevation to Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister, highlighting her as an inspiration for young women.
• 🔸 The speaker contrasts their upbringing: the Secretary of State under a Conservative government and the speaker in Nigeria under a socialist military government.
• 🔸 The speaker criticizes the Secretary of State's new role, suggesting she is a 'fall guy' for undeliverable promises made by the Prime Minister and the Chancellor.
• 🔸 There is skepticism about the government's ability to meet its housing targets, citing a need for systemic change and past failures.
• 🔸 The speaker offers support and advice to the Secretary of State, based on their own experience as a former Secretary of State.
• 🔸 The speaker warns of the challenges the Secretary of State will face, particularly from backbenchers and new Labour constituencies.
• 🔸 The speaker criticizes Labour's past performance on housebuilding and their current policies, suggesting they will struggle to meet their targets.
• 🔸 The speaker commits to being a constructive opposition, offering help and advice while holding the government accountable for their promises.

Q & A

What is the significance of the speaker's mention of both being born in 1980?

The mention of both being born in 1980 establishes a commonality between the speaker and the person they are addressing, despite their different backgrounds and political affiliations.

Why does the speaker claim to be 'older and wiser' than the other person?

The speaker uses this phrase to assert their experience and seniority, implying that they have more knowledge and understanding due to their longer time in the House.

What does the speaker mean by 'elevation to Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister'?

The speaker is congratulating the other person on their new position in the government, highlighting it as a 'phenomenal achievement' and a role that will inspire young people.

How does the speaker describe the person's journey to the top as 'an extraordinary story'?

The speaker refers to the person's rise to power as 'an extraordinary story' to emphasize the impressive nature of their success, especially considering their diverse backgrounds.

What is the implication of the speaker's comment about 'a Conservative Government with a welfare state'?

The speaker suggests that the person's success may be attributed to the stability and opportunities provided by a Conservative government, contrasting it with their own upbringing under a socialist military government in Nigeria.

Why does the speaker say 'she has been stitched up'?

This phrase implies that the person has been set up to fail or take the blame for something that is not their fault, suggesting that they are being made responsible for policies and promises that are unrealistic or not their own.

What does the speaker mean by 'I've been there, done it'?

This idiomatic expression indicates that the speaker has had similar experiences and responsibilities in the past, and therefore has insights into the challenges the person will face in their new role.

What is the speaker's view on the feasibility of building 1.5 million houses by the end of the Parliament?

The speaker questions the feasibility of this goal, stating that it would require systemic changes that the government may not be ready for, and points out that they are already behind schedule.

How does the speaker describe the challenges faced by the new government in terms of housing policy?

The speaker outlines several challenges, including unrealistic targets, lack of experience, systemic resistance to change, and the potential impact of immigration on housing demand.

What is the speaker's stance on the Labour government's housing policy?

The speaker is critical of the Labour government's housing policy, suggesting that their promises are not deliverable and that they lack a clear plan for achieving their goals.

What does the speaker imply about the role of backbenchers in the new government?

The speaker implies that backbenchers may face significant pressure from their constituents regarding housing policy decisions, and that they may struggle to manage the expectations and demands placed upon them.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Unexpected Congratulatory Remarks

The speaker expresses surprise at the elevation of a colleague to Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister, highlighting their commonalities and differences. She praises her colleague's success and its inspirational impact, while subtly attributing some credit to the Conservative government's support system that was in place during her colleague's upbringing.

05:00

🤝 Warnings and Insights from Experience

The speaker, drawing on her past experience as a Secretary of State, warns her colleague about the challenges ahead. She criticizes the new policies, suggesting they were crafted by the Chancellor and advisors, not her colleague. The speaker offers support and predicts difficulties in achieving housing targets set by the government, emphasizing the systemic changes required for success.

10:01

🏠 Housing Targets and Political Realities

The speaker elaborates on the practical challenges of meeting the government's ambitious housing targets. She explains the bureaucratic delays and the political backlash expected from new Labour constituencies, particularly in green belt areas. She contrasts Labour's past failures in housing with the Conservatives' achievements and expresses skepticism about Labour's ability to deliver on their promises.

🏗️ Housing Policy Critiques and Opposition's Role

The speaker critiques Labour's housing policies and their feasibility without sufficient funding. She questions the consequences for local councils if targets are missed and expresses doubt about Labour's ability to follow through on their plans. She anticipates Labour's struggles in balancing local opposition with central mandates and highlights past inconsistencies in Labour's housing efforts.

🔄 Constructive Opposition and Future Challenges

The speaker emphasizes the role of constructive opposition and expresses a willingness to support Labour in achieving their housing goals. She points out the practical difficulties and potential failures Labour may face, based on historical precedents and current political realities. She concludes by asserting the Conservatives' readiness to hold Labour accountable while offering guidance based on their extensive experience in government.

Keywords

💡Secretary of State

The Secretary of State is a senior ministerial position in the government of a country, often responsible for a specific department or area of policy. In the context of this video, the speaker congratulates the individual on their elevation to this role, indicating a significant promotion and a key part of the video's theme of political achievement and responsibility.

💡Deputy Prime Minister

The Deputy Prime Minister is a political role often held by a senior member of the government who acts as the second-in-command to the Prime Minister. The speaker mentions this role in their congratulatory remarks, emphasizing the individual's new high-ranking status and the expectations placed on them in their new position.

💡Conservative Government

The Conservative Government refers to a government led by the Conservative Party, typically associated with right-wing or center-right political ideologies. The speaker contrasts the individual's upbringing under a Conservative Government with their own, suggesting different influences on their political views and the broader theme of political and social backgrounds.

💡Socialist military Government

A Socialist military Government is a form of government where the military exercises control and implements socialist policies. The speaker uses this term to describe their own upbringing in Nigeria, contrasting it with the individual's experience under a Conservative Government, highlighting the diverse backgrounds that can lead to political success.

💡Manifesto

A manifesto is a public declaration of policy and aims, often issued by a political party or candidate. The speaker criticizes the manifesto as being undeliverable, suggesting that the promises made are unrealistic. This highlights the theme of political promises and their feasibility.

💡Affordable homes

Affordable homes refer to housing that is priced at a level that makes it accessible to people with lower incomes. The speaker discusses the record of building affordable homes in the previous government, using this as a benchmark against which the new government's promises will be measured, emphasizing the importance of housing policy in the video's narrative.

💡Green belt

The green belt is a policy tool used in town and country planning to designate areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. The speaker mentions safeguarding the green belt while building new homes, indicating a balance between development and environmental protection, which is a key issue in the video.

💡Housing Minister

The Housing Minister is a government official responsible for overseeing housing policy and initiatives. The speaker criticizes the Housing Minister and other Cabinet Members for opposing planning in their constituencies, suggesting a disconnect between policy and local realities, which is a recurring theme in the video.

💡Immigration

Immigration refers to the movement of people into a new country with the intention of residing there. The speaker links immigration to housing demand, suggesting that the government's policies on immigration will have a direct impact on the housing market. This connects to the broader theme of how government policies affect societal issues.

💡Backbenchers

Backbenchers are members of parliament who are not part of the government or the opposition frontbench. The speaker warns that backbenchers will face the brunt of voter dissatisfaction with housing policies, illustrating the political dynamics within the government and the challenges of implementing unpopular policies.

💡NIMBYs

NIMBY is an acronym for 'Not In My Back Yard,' referring to opposition to new developments in one's local area. The speaker criticizes the Liberal Democrats for their NIMBY tendencies, suggesting that their promises to not build anything in their communities will clash with their manifesto promises, highlighting the theme of political hypocrisy and the challenges of balancing local and national interests.

Highlights

Congratulation to the new Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister, highlighting her phenomenal achievement.

The new Secretary will be an inspiration to young people, especially young women, across the country.

Acknowledging the diverse backgrounds from which people can rise to the top in Britain.

Contrasting the upbringing under different political systems: Conservative and socialist military.

The new Minister's policies and bills are influenced by the Chancellor and his advisors, not her own.

The previous work on opposition, like a new deal for workers, has been taken over by the business secretary.

The manifesto and promises made are not deliverable, and the new Minister is expected to sell them.

The absence of many shadow team members as Ministers, highlighting the selection bias in appointments.

The unrealistic promise of 1.5 million houses by the end of the Parliament, considering the current progress.

The systemic change required to achieve housing targets, which the current government may not be ready for.

The shift in green belt protection from Labour constituencies to Tory constituencies.

The challenge of managing backbenchers and their reactions to new policies affecting their constituencies.

The process of consultation and response that will delay the start of new housing projects.

The comparison of the current government's housing record with the previous one, highlighting the achievements.

The concern over the handling of immigration and its impact on housing demand.

The criticism of Labour's past record in housing, particularly in London and Wales.

The potential conflict between local councils and the central government over housing policies.

The need for the new Minister to explain the technical details of how housing targets will be achieved.

The readiness of the opposition to point out the difficulties and technicalities in the new housing policies.

The call for the new government to match or exceed the previous government's funding and support for local authorities.

The expectation that the new government will need to address issues of sectarianism and integration.

Transcripts

She and I have never really met,

certainly never spoken to each other

despite being in this House

together for seven years.

We have some things in common.

Not much.

We were both born in 1980.

Although I'm older and wiser than she is.

People often

think we're both much younger

than we really are

because we've got such great skin

and good hair,

and we're both known

as being quite feisty.

So I'm really pleased to be able

to congratulate her

on her elevation

to Secretary of State

and Deputy Prime Minister.

This is a phenomenal achievement.

She will be a great inspiration

to young people,

but particularly young women

in many communities across the country.

And I think that's a wonderful thing.

That's the sort of Britain we are,

where people who grow up from

all walks of life can reach the top.

It's an extraordinary story.

Dare I say, of Conservative success,

because, unlike me,

she grew up

under a Conservative Government

with a welfare state

that provided a safety net,

a strong economy and opportunity.

While I mostly grew up in Nigeria

under a socialist military Government,

they use a lot of the rhetoric

that I've heard her promote

when she was sitting on

this side of the House.

So she may not credit Conservatives

for what she has achieved,

but we'll be taking

some of that credit anyway.

So I'd like to extend a very warm

welcome to her on her first

outing as a Minister in the Chamber,

because it's only going

to be downhill from here.

You see, the thing

is, I've been a Secretary of State before

and after five years as a Minister,

you learn a thing or two about Government

that you never can in opposition.

I've been there, done it,

and I can tell the Right

Honourable Lady

that she has been stitched up.

It is quite clear

that the bills

and policies from the King's Speech

she's just referenced

have not been written by her,

but by the Chancellor

and the Chancellor's advisers.

We all know this

because we watched the member

for Leeds West

announce them

in far more detail

in her speech last week,

and all the stuff

the Secretary of State

worked on in opposition,

like a new deal

for workers, has been taken off her

and given to the business secretary.

So I'm sorry to tell the Right

Honourable Lady

that her colleagues,

the Prime Minister, the Chancellor

and their many advisers

have written

a manifesto

and made promises

that are not deliverable.

And they've hung them around her

neck and said,

Angela, you go out there and you sell it.

I'm sad to

see many of her shadow team

not sitting beside her as Ministers.

They work for free,

grinding in opposition for years,

only to watch

the children of the chosen ones

get the ministerial calls and salaries

before their maiden speeches are written.

Wow.

Sue Graham was a lot

nicer to me

when she worked in my department.

I think we know who's in charge.

And it's not the Right Honourable Lady.

She's been stitched up.

They've made her the fall guy.

They've promised 1.5 million houses

by the end of this Parliament.

That's over 800 houses per day.

And we're already two weeks in.

And as she goes on, day after day,

she's going to realise

that a backlog is building

and there's no way out.

But I want her to know

that I'm here for her.

I'll be here to hold her

hand and walk her through

what is likely

to be a very difficult time.

I may even give her some tips,

because having worked in that department,

I know what needs to be done.

I know what we should have

done that we didn't do.

And I know that

they're going to make the same mistakes.

It's not that 1.5

million homes by the end of this

Parliament is unachievable.

It's that it's going to require

the sort of systemic change

which they are not ready for.

I know they're not ready

because of how they voted

in the last Parliament

and how they campaigned

in their own constituencies.

I'm not going to read out the long

list of all the Cabinet Members

who've been opposing

planning in their backyard,

including the Housing Minister.

Many of them have been thinking

that they get into Government

and concrete over

lots of Tory constituencies.

Three weeks ago,

just 15% of the green belt

was in Labour constituencies.

Now it's 50%.

They aren’t Tory constituencies now,

they are Labour.

So, Mr. Deputy Speaker,

I would say yes, they are Labour.

They are Labour.

I would say to Members opposite,

they are now your voters

and your electorate,

and you're going to have to tell them

that you're going to do something

that many of you promised

locally that you would never do

not that long ago.

But it mostly won't be

the problem of the Cabinet

who will look after themselves.

It'll be the backbenchers.

All those bright, shiny faces

I see sitting behind the Right

Honourable Lady

who are really excited to be here.

They haven't started

getting those angry emails

we've been replying to for 14 years.

Many of those voters,

many of those voters on whom their narrow

and slim majorities

now rely, will be writing to them.

So in the spirit of sisterly report,

support,

I'm going to let her know

what's going to happen

over the next few weeks and months.

And they're looking

so nervous right now, I can tell.

Very nervous.

Let me tell the Right

Honourable Lady

she's going to get a period

of consultation.

That's going to take this long

and then she's going to have to respond

to that consultation

and that will take this long,

assuming that nothing goes wrong

with either of those processes.

So we reached December, January.

Six months have passed

and that is 10% of the Parliament.

Well, you haven't built any extra homes.

So at this point

she'll be running

500 homes behind the target

every single day,

and they wouldn't have started

building properly.

The Honourable,

gentleman is challenging

from a sedentary position

that you wait and see.

We have seen. We've been there.

We know you don't.

And as it becomes

clear in these new Labour constituencies

for which congratulations,

these new Labour constituencies

in the green belt,

as it becomes clear to their voters

what's happening,

those MPs are going to receive

a lot more emails. I mean, a lot more.

They're going to want

a lot of public meetings

because they will know

that the decisions,

which she announced

are now being taken out of local hands

and made by Central Government,

and the only way that they can register

their concern

is by appealing to their local MPs,

who will all be appealing to her.

But this is what being in power is.

Government is about making

difficult decisions.

Opposition is easy.

We've been watching Labour

do it for 14 years,

and they have spent all the time

telling the people of this country

that they will do better.

So here's the record

that they are going to have to beat.

We built a million new homes

in the course of the last Parliament,

while safeguarding the greenbelt,

2.5 million since 2010,

despite Covid.

We delivered 700,000

new affordable homes.

Over 172,000

of those were for social rent.

We put in place £11.5 billion

affordable homes program.

Does she even know yet

if the Chancellor

will give her up to 11.5 billion?

Because she's going to need

a lot more than that,

if she's going to beat our record.

And let's not forget

what Labour did just last year.

We had a majority in this House,

but not in the other place

where they whipped Labour Lords

to vote

against an amendment

on nutrient neutrality.

Using new Brexit powers

to unlock a 160,000 homes,

many of those new members

didn't see that happening.

They're going to find it shocking.

We legislated for that.

They blocked it.

Destructive opposition.

Are they going to reverse that decision?

I have a feeling they won’t.

And that's

why I'm worried about the Right

Honourable Lady.

Is she going to be able to face

down her backbenches,

or will Labour carry on

not doing the things that you have to do

in order to build homes?

More.

Thank you.

Let's look at the let's look at them.

Let's look at the Labour record.

In the year to June 2009

she talks about what happened

at the last World War.

In the year

to June 2009,

when everybody here was alive,

when they were last in Government,

they only built 75,000

new homes,

the lowest level of housebuilding

since the 1920s.

And what are they going to do?

What are they doing,

where they currently are in Government?

In London,

Sadiq Khan has failed

to hit his own targets,

giving just 21,000 new homes in 2022.

Despite us giving him pots

and pots of money,

we were forced to intervene

on his housebuilding failures.

Why hasn't

he built on all those car parks

that she was talking about

in her speech?

In Wales, the Labour

administration promised to deliver

20,000 new homes for social rent by 2026.

They've barely delivered a quarter.

The Right Honourable Lady may pretend

building homes is easy, but Labour

know it's not easy

because they failed in London

and they failed in Wales

and they are already making new mistakes.

We all know that immigration increases

housing demand.

Just this week

we heard that

they're going to be fast

tracking 90,000 illegal immigrants

who already landed here.

If they are permitted to stay,

they will require permanent housing.

We put the Rwanda scheme in place

to limit illegal immigration.

They've scrapped it.

So with no plans

whatsoever to tackle the problem,

has she got 90,000 homes

ready for the people

her Home Secretary is going to be fast

tracking through?

If not, she's already 90,000

homes down on the target

the Prime Minister has set for her.

So that's why

I'm feeling very generous

towards the Right Honourable Lady,

because she has been stitched up.

She's going to need some friends.

And I want her to know that

we're all here for her.

Some people think opposition is about,

Some people think opposition

is about throwing mud across the Chamber

or calling your opponents scum.

But often it's about saying

I told you so.

And I want to reassure the Right

Honourable Lady

that I will be here to say I told you so

when these targets all missed.

We, of course,

will be a constructive opposition.

We want to see homes

built in the right places

with the right infrastructure.

We are here to help.

I doubt the same

could be said of the biggest local NIMBYs

in the country, the Liberal Democrats.

Not sure whether they’re or not.

There are many more of them now.

You wouldn't know,

but there are.

Usually elected on promises not to build anything

anywhere in their communities.

In the last Parliament,

I watched them oppose

planning reforms on permitted

development reforms

that have allowed us to build on land

that was already in use.

It'll be very interesting

to see

how they square their Nimby tendencies

with their manifesto promises.

But then again,

saying one thing and doing

another has never bothered

the Liberal Democrats.

She’s not going to get any help from them.

But we're here for her.

I've heard some of Labour's

plans introducing mandatory targets

while introducing new regulatory costs.

Work without taxpayer funding,

their affordable

housing targets are unviable.

Where's that money going to come from?

The mandate

they want to enforce implies

a consequence for missing the target.

What will that consequence

be for local councils?

Are they going to scrap

neighbourhood plans

that communities have put together

to deliver more homes

as my Honourable friend said?

What will those councils

say when they're forced to do things

they promised

they wouldn't do just eight weeks ago?

So we've heard

from Labour

in the speeches that have been given,

that they would bring in those mechanisms

for overriding local decision

making, to identify the land

for development.

That's fine.

But identifying land

doesn't mean the homes

or infrastructures will be built.

So I look forward to second

reading of her bill,

where she will have to explain

the plant plans

that the Chancellor and her spads

have written up for the Right

Honourable Lady,

and she can tell us in

great technical detail

how they will to be delivered.

Although I suspect

she will leave the tricky stuff

to the Junior Ministers.

So we Conservatives

may not be as many as we used to be,

but we still know all the stuff

that we learned over 14 years

as we deliver 2.5 million homes.

We know where the difficulties are.

We know the technicalities.

She is just learning

and we're going to be ready

and waiting to show

that she and her Party have made promises

they cannot keep,

and in many cases,

have no idea what they are doing.

To conclude, Mr. Deputy Speaker,

Labour have a tough act to follow.

But imitation is the sincerest.

They do, they do.

But imitation

is the sincerest form of flattery,

and I'm pleased to see

that they have been copying

and pasting

many of the policies

that we had in Government.

They've been copying

and pasting what we do.

We introduced metro Mayors

with substantial powers.

Now they're announcing

they're going to do more.

We put billions of levelling up

funding into communities

backing metro Mayors like Ben Harter.

Let’s see if Labour will follow this

for all their new Mayors.

In the last local Government

finance settlement,

we made £64.7 billion available

for local authorities,

a 7.5% increase in cash terms.

Let's see if Labour tops that

rather than just moving money

from one part of the country to another.

We would like to see them

get the Holocaust Memorial Bill,

which we started on to the statute books

that the Prime Minister promised

will support them in that.

We must do right

by our Jewish communities.

We provided record levels of funding

to protect them from harm and extremism.

We took decisive action

to tackle growing sectarianism,

and I'm disappointed

not to see any mention of how Labour

will continue this in The King's Speech.

This election, we saw independent MPs

win seats off Labour

on the back of sectarianism

and integration failures,

a problem Labour

continually denies exists

even as we are watching riots in Leeds.

It is time to put the childish displays

and fake outrage

that they have been showing away.

The Right Honourable

Lady will need to get very serious

very quickly

and where she has the right ambition,

we will do what we can to support her

in facing down those Members

sitting behind her

who still didn't get it.