Not all cultures equally valid, says Kemi Badenoch

[candlewhickgreen]

Badenoch when talking about immigration has spoken about not all cultures being equal. By that she meant that we have to be careful about who we let into the country and to make sure they respect Western values.

We take in a lot of immigrants from India for example, which has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world and some of the highest rates of sexual assault.

Is she suggesting that we stop accepting people from India and similar countries or is she suggesting that they are indoctrinated into Western values?

We bring in a lot of immigrants to do essential jobs such as work in the NHS, so how does that work exactly? Are they going to be sent to a Western values bootcamp?

Is this just dog whistle politics? She knows this is a hot topic at the moment and that there is a lot of tension around certain cultures in the UK.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/29/kemi-badenoch-not-all-cultures-equally-valid-immigration

@Teddleshon I think you know I was saying quite the opposite. My reading of the BBC article is that they agree with me that Badenoch is dodgy on maternity leave. The scandal about it in the press is not for nothing. But gaslight away ….

And wow, her expenses claim!

www.parallelparliament.co.uk/mp/kemi-badenoch/expenses

@marmaladeandpeanutbutter perhaps I'm missing something but the second paragraph of the article you linked to has her quoted as saying she doesn't think "maternity pay should be changed in any way"?

Yes, you are missing something.

Well I guess it depends if you want to take her actual words or the spin that her Tory rivals have put on it.

Her actual words in the Times Radio interview are, at face value, straightforward. (1) Stat Maternity Pay is money taken from other taxpayers which is wrong and (2) people had babies, more babies, before Maternity Pay was a thing and people should take more responsibility for themselves.

It is, putting it mildly, difficult to see those words as a ringing endorsement of the situation and rights of expectant Mothers as they stand.

If she 'mispoke' and was actually making a wider point about burdens on employers, particulalry in a new/prospective small business scenario then fair enough. But getting, as KB invariably does when challenged, combative and accusing others isn't a good look.

Neither is saying that the national living wage is a burden too far.

Just read through the whole thread. A lot of dancing around. Have we not seen with all the rape gangs like in Rotherham, that some cultures are not compatible with our values. Why would we not be wary about the culture of people who come here?

Gangs in Rotherham were British citizens. Banning forward immigration doesn’t address this issue. It is so much more complex. Of course Badenoch et al know that really.

@Bromptotoo again, saying a cafe in her constituency had to close down because it couldn't afford to pay the minimum wage is not the same as saying the minimum wage should be abolished.

She is (rather clumsily I agree) trying to make the point that regulation and taxes as they stand are excessive for small businesses.

The grotesque unfairness of the overall tax regime (in particular business rates) on small businesses is a significant factor as to why most High Streets are dominated by charity shops and betting shops.

I have no idea why she linked what she was saying with maternity pay particularly when she specifically said she had no problems with its amount. I agree her communication on this is fairly dire but I don't think it's fair to say she wants to somehow eliminate or reduce maternity pay and the minimum wage.

I think she makes less sense each day that passes by....
I do like the integration courses indeed.
Maybe even part of the visa application? Just a little video about the basic laws in UK and basic customs here.
Nobody told me about the TV licence and coincil tax before I arrived here, for example. Or that people tend to hive way in the street same as driving, so the other way! I had so many issies eith that! And neither about cream and afternoon teas, how could I have lived 26 years without having one, I am not sure, but I love them!
Also, many people come from countries where mortgages/ taxes and so on are rather different, so a bit of explanation will be of great help too.
I think it is a great idea!

She said:

“Statutory maternity pay is a function of tax; tax comes from people who are working. We’re taking from one group of people and giving to another. This, in my view, is excessive.”

It seems to me that she doesn't believe statutory maternity pay should come from taxes or even be paid. What do you understand from what she said?

Brexit, high rents and the internet have closed many businesses. If the Tories thought business rates were unfair, then they should have changed them in the 14 years they were in power.

I agree that the tax system in this country is ridiculous, especially for the very wealthy.

No, of course. We should just use our taxes to pay into the wages and companies of people like her. Mothers should fence for themselves...
I do not like her, but this takes the piss.
SMP is so so so small anyway. It is really a pittance!

Shh...don't tell them that. These threads...!

I do not think men should be coming into western counteries if they firmly believe women are third class citizens regardless of where they are from.
Homosexuality is fully accepted legally in most parts of Europe, people who come here must respect this & accept this.
They need to integrate into our way of life & culture... Not expect society to change to suit the way of like they are fleeing from!

She is a babbling mess.

Boris Johnson remade the Conservative Party in his own image so now Tory members are subjected to babbling mess after babbling mess of chancers, liars and those with zero awareness. I feel sorry for them in this newest leadership contest, and going forward.

There are really easy things you can do, rather than stigmatising entire countries or ethnicities.

Banning cousin marriage as Scandinavia has done recently would be a great start - it has health benefits and loosens ties of kinship to communities that tend to value loyalty to bloodlines over democracy, rule of law etc. That, plus exacting spousal visa rules, enforcement of educational standards for all etc should help immensely with integration in the long term.

There is a whole spectrum between "respecting" another cultures values and being "indoctrinated" into them

If I moved to or even just visited another country I would be expected to follow their rules and traditions, whether that be not mowing the lawn on a Sunday morning in Germany, not wearing a miniskirt in saudi Arabia or tipping in the US. That doesn't mean I am indoctrinated into thinking Sunday should be a special quiet day or that women showing skin is sinful or that it's okay to not pay staff a living wage and expect customers to subsidise business costs- just that I recognise that's the way things work there and if I want to visit or live it's for me to acclimatise to them and not vice versa.

If someone from a country wants to move here and holds views that are out of step with the majority of British people, like thinking being gay is immoral or marriages between a 15 year old girl and 40 year old man are okay, that's fine, they can think whatever they want in their own heads. But if they put those views into practice in a way that breaks the law -e.g. if they own a company and refuse to hire a gay man or try to marry their teenage daughter to their divorced neighbour then they should be punished like anyone else.

I may agree with KB.
I want to hear her out.
I will not put words in her mouth.

How would you figure out which men believed women are third class citizens at the border?

It is interesting that out of all the countries in the world involved in war the only one you choose to single out is the Jewish one.
I wonder why that might be.

I imagine a bit of a clue is if these men come from a country where women are routinely subjugated, beaten and denied an education.
Hope this helps.

Why do you think I'm "singling out" a Jewish country?

From a woman integral in a government that did little else but roll back traditional British values like the freedom to protest, the right to strike, introduced voter id in a blatant attempt to disenfranchise voters etc.

This wasn't what she said. She said child marriage for example and the culture whereby when she knocked on some doors a woman opens then says she "can't" talk to her and she should speak with her husband instead but Laura Kunnsberg changed it and said when the woman who opens the door says she doesn't "want"to talk to you but will get her husband.

Well as long as people are arrested and face a fair trial when charged that's ok isn't it?

Well no not really. It means a victim has suffered. Considering how many crimes don't have enough evidence to prosecute or aren't even reported, that's a lot of suffering by multiple victims by the time someone is arrested and prosecuted. Then all that, the police and courts etc, costs the country money and so does the justice if they're found guilty.

It would be far better if people who don't agree with western values and aren't prepared to live by them, simply didn't come here. It's not like we don't have enough arseholes of our own born and raised here who'll grow up to be criminals and cause suffering. Since we don't have any psychic thought-police though, I don't see how it can be prevented. Except by not allowing convicted criminals in, we could do that and it would be a start.