Kemi Badenoch Proposes 15-Year Path to British Citizenship for Immigrants

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Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the UK’s opposition Conservative Party, intends to make it more difficult for regular migrants to settle in Britain permanently. The proposal is her first significant policy announcement since taking the reins of the party in November and seeks to stem the bleeding of supporters to the hard-right Reform UK party.

In a recent interview, Badenoch outlined that migrants would have to show, through working and paying their taxes, that they make a net contribution to the UK economy in order to be eligible for indefinite settlement. She said residency status would not be given to those who have claimed benefits: “We need to slow down the track for citizenship. A UK passport should be a privilege, not an automatic right.”

Badenoch, born in London to Nigerian parents and raised in Nigeria, also called for doubling the period before migrants can apply for indefinite leave to remain—a pathway to British citizenship—from five to ten years. Shadow Interior Minister Chris Philp went further to say that those who continually claim benefits without working would not be granted indefinite leave to remain. He continued, “Those people who have not worked or worked for low salaries would be obliged to leave.”

With the defeat of the Conservative Party in the July elections and the next general election not due until 2029, the road ahead for this political party looks really tough. After the historic defeat, the party was reduced to just 121 seats in the 650-seat UK Parliament, while Labour won a commanding 406 seats to end the Conservatives’ 14-year reign. The net migration during the Conservatives in power reached record levels, a factor that has fed the public debate.

Meanwhile, Reform UK, led by one of the best-recognized Eurosceptics, Nigel Farage, broke through at the last elections to take five seats. The first time this has ever happened, Reform UK took the lead in a recent YouGov poll, albeit just within the margin of error-one point ahead of Labour.

Badenoch’s proposals represent an attempt to placate immigration fears and win back those deserting to Reform UK’s hard right. But with Labour in a very secure position, the Conservatives have a mountain to climb if they are to recover their political authority.