Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has made it crystal clear that any softening of Brexit under Keir Starmer’s Labour government won’t go unchallenged, promising to roll back any changes she sees as undermining the UK’s 2016 referendum result.
Speaking to GB News, Badenoch didn’t hold back, accusing Labour of preparing to “roll back on the instruction the country gave us on Brexit” and warning, “If Keir Starmer starts rolling back… we will reverse the changes he made”, reported GB News.
Starmer, meanwhile, has been signalling a “reset” with the EU, which has sparked unease among staunch Brexiteers, especially as immigration and defence take centre stage in ongoing discussions. For Badenoch, it’s not just about sovereignty — it’s about trust.
“My worry is, when Labour negotiates, Britain loses,” she said, citing fears that Labour could quietly usher in new deals on free movement, EU payments, and fishing rights — areas that were key battlegrounds during the Brexit campaign.
She zeroed in on the risk of free movement being reintroduced “through the backdoor,” warning, “We already have a huge immigration problem and we need to bring it down.” Labour’s refusal to set firm migration targets has only added fuel to that fire.
Money was another hot topic. “If he starts paying new money to the EU, we cannot afford it,” Badenoch stated bluntly. She also didn’t hold back on the subject of fishing, accusing Labour figures of mocking coastal communities and questioning why the EU is so eager to regain access to UK waters if fishing is as trivial as some claim.
“If they think fishing is so irrelevant, why does the EU want it so badly?” she asked, defending regions like Grimsby and the South West, where fishing remains a core part of local life. “We cannot sell them down the river, pardon the pun,” she added.
On the wider EU relationship, Badenoch wasn’t impressed by talk of deeper defence cooperation either. She made clear that NATO must remain “at the heart of defence in the UK,” adding a swipe at Labour’s previous foreign policy moves, such as the controversial Chagos Islands deal and what she called a “lopsided” tax agreement with India.
To keep Labour in check, she’s laid out five tests for EU talks and made it known that the Conservatives won’t shy away from reversing policies if they believe the Brexit line has been crossed.
“We shouldn’t be having to talk about Brexit anymore,” she said. “We should be talking about the opportunities.”
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