Badenoch says Equality Act has been misinterpreted and ‘fed discontent’ in communities

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch has said the Equality Act being misinterpreted has “fed a lot of the discontent” seen in communities across the UK. “We can stop all that, but we need to make sure that we give people something common.” She added: “Allowing the cultural zeitgeist to talk as if we are all in different factions or we’re all in different identity groups is one of the reasons why people are beginning to see more difference rather than see more in common.” Kemi Badenoch ruled out a merger with Nigel Farage’s Reform At last month’s general election, the Conservatives suffered the party’s worst loss in history, coming third in many seats to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick, Mel Stride, James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat and Priti Patel are vying for the leadership of the Tories Asked how the party should tackle the Lib Dems she said: “The same way we handle Labour and Reform – by being better than them. “So being better than them is the basic, but making sure that we don’t allow them to get away with many of the untruths that they put out.” The MP for North West Essex is one of six Tory leadership hopefuls, and will face off against James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Dame Priti Patel, Mel Stride and Tom Tugendhat.