Sir James Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary, stated he would not have made a comparison likening a government minister to a Gestapo officer, a remark previously made by Kemi Badenoch regarding Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson. Badenoch's comment, which criticized the government's decision to remove a tax exemption for private schools, drew significant backlash from the Labour Party.
During an appearance on the BBC's "Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg" program, Cleverly, while addressing Labour's record on education, was pressed on whether he would have employed similar phrasing. "No, I probably wouldn't have done," he responded. Badenoch has not issued an apology for the comment, which Phillipson described as indicative of someone "not fit to be prime minister."
Earlier in the week, Badenoch also characterized Phillipson as a "spiteful class warrior" during Prime Minister's Questions. The Conservative Party has accused Labour of targeting families with children in private schools by imposing VAT, a move they claim is intended to fund more state school teachers, despite a reported decline in state teacher numbers.
Cleverly elaborated on the Conservative perspective, arguing that Phillipson's policies were not aimed at raising funds or recruiting teachers but rather at penalizing parents who used private schooling. "The point is Bridget Phillipson has pursued an agenda which has nothing to do with raising money, nothing to do with recruiting teachers, it is about punishing people who spend their own money to send their children to private school," he said.
When questioned about the appropriateness of the language, Cleverly reiterated, "So that wouldn't have been the phraseology that I use, but you can see Kemi's explanation there." He also drew a parallel to criticisms leveled by Labour figures, noting that Phillipson had previously called comments by Conservative MP Nick Timothy "racist" and demanded his dismissal. Timothy had described a Muslim religious gathering in London as an "act of domination."
Cleverly suggested that the Labour Party's reaction to Badenoch's remarks was disproportionate, stating, "When Kemi highlights the fact that these policies are vindictive and they are about class war rather than recruiting teachers, she gets vilified by the Labour Party. And when people in the Labour Party, literally minutes earlier, describe a Conservative MP as being racist, no-one seems to bat an eyelid."
Discussing the broader tone of political discourse, Cleverly asserted that politicians have a responsibility to maintain a respectful exchange, but also emphasized the importance of robust accountability in a democracy. "We have a robust democracy and I think one of the dangers in a desire to be collegiate and calm is the voters think that we are not holding each other to account. So I do think we need to be robust and I do think when we see people, particularly Secretaries of State, particularly the government, doing things, not for the good of the country but to scratch a party political itch, I think it's absolutely right that we call it out," he explained.
Anna Turley, chairwoman of the Labour Party, commented that Badenoch's shadow ministers were unable to defend her remarks, indicating they recognized the comments were "completely appalling and deeply inappropriate."