British MP and shadow minister Robert Jenrick branded the multicultural Soho Road locality of Birmingham a ‘slum’ and ‘one of the worst integrated places’ in the United Kingdom. His remarks about the locality, home to Indian and Pakistani communities, triggered a severe backlash from the locals, business leaders, and politicians. Senior Tory MP Robert Jenrick has sparked widespread outrage with his remarks about Soho Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, according to the Daily Mail. Jenrick’s remarks drew sharp criticism from MP Ayoub Khan and Mayor Richard Parker, who condemned them as divisive and racially charged. The residents of the area also slammed Jenrick, and hailed the area as vibrant and diverse.&nbsp;Jenrick, the Shadow Justice Secretary, made the remarks during a Conservative Association dinner in March after spending 90 minutes in the area filming a GB News segment about litter during a bin strike, the Daily Mail reported.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/amit-shah-switches-to-homegrown-zoho-mail-why-the-move-matters-for-india-s-tech-sector-1759925027633">Amit Shah switches to homegrown Zoho Mail: Why the move matters for India’s tech sector?</a>&nbsp;“I went to Handsworth in Birmingham the other day to do a video on litter, and it was absolutely appalling. It’s as close as I’ve come to a slum in this country. But the other thing I noticed there was that it was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to. In fact, in the hour and a half I was filming news there, I didn’t see another white face,” said the Guardian report, quoting his speech.“That’s not the kind of country I want to live in. I want to live in a country where people are properly integrated. It’s not about the colour of your skin or your faith, of course it isn’t. But I want people to be living alongside each other, not parallel lives. That’s not the right way we want to live as a country,” it added.&nbsp;<h2>Residents, business owners, and political leaders slam Jenrick&nbsp;</h2>&nbsp;The Tory MP’s remarks have roiled the residents, business owners, and political leaders, who described the area as vibrant and diverse and attacked him for painting a wrong image.The Birmingham City Council data cited by the Daily Mail says 8.7% of Handsworth’s population is white, with the majority being of Indian (2,736 residents) and Pakistani (2,962 residents) descent.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/-have-to-take-it-back-says-rss-chief-mohan-bhagwat-on-pok-as-it-battles-unrest-1759694551550">‘Have to take it back’, says RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on PoK as it battles unrest&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;Rishi Lothiyi, a British Indian consultant who grew up in Handsworth and married Kerry, a white British woman, said the MP must have been “drunk” to call the area poorly integrated. He described Soho Road as a “melting pot of cultures”.Ranjit Singh, the landlord of the last pub in the area, The Cross Guns, said his customers came from all colours and creeds, the Daily Mail report added.“I see white people here all the time. We have lots of Irish and English customers. Everybody gets along around here,” he said.&nbsp;Ayoub Khan, the MP for Perry Barr, called Jenrick’s remarks “repulsive” and “disingenuous”, adding that they carried “undertones of racism”. Bishop Desmond Jaddoo demanded an apology from Jenrick, calling his statements “divisive”.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/canadian-foreign-minister-anita-anand-to-visit-india-next-week-1759901911276">Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand to visit India next week</a><h2>‘Jenrick trying to divide communities for political gain’</h2>&nbsp;Liz Davies, a retired teacher, said she has lived peacefully among Asian, Black, and Eastern European neighbours for over 40 years, and called the MP’s remarks “ignorant and ridiculous.”West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker accused Jenrick of trying to divide communities for political gain.“Handsworth is a community where people of different backgrounds live and work side by side,” said Parker and accused Jenrick of separating “people by the colour of their skin”.&nbsp;&nbsp;Most locals questioned Jenrick’s understanding of integration in modern Britain.&nbsp;Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said, “Robert Jenrick in his leaked comments reduces people to the colour of their skin and judges his own level of comfort by whether there are other white faces around.”&nbsp;WATCH: At Least 20 Children Dead Due to Alleged Consumption of Contaminated Cough Syrup<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/at-least-20-children-dead-due-to-alleged-consumption-of-contaminated-cough-syrup-1759926956059/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/at-least-20-children-dead-due-to-alleged-consumption-of-contaminated-cough-syrup-1759926956059/embed</a>

The remarks of Robert Jenrick have roiled the residents, business owners, and political leaders, who described the area as vibrant and diverse and attacked him for painting a wrong image. West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker accused him of trying to divide communities for political gain.

British MP and shadow minister Robert Jenrick branded the multicultural Soho Road locality of Birmingham a ‘slum’ and ‘one of the worst integrated places’ in the United Kingdom. His remarks about the locality, home to Indian and Pakistani communities, triggered a severe backlash from the locals, business leaders, and politicians. Senior Tory MP Robert Jenrick has sparked widespread outrage with his remarks about Soho Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, according to the Daily Mail. Jenrick’s remarks drew sharp criticism from MP Ayoub Khan and Mayor Richard Parker, who condemned them as divisive and racially charged. The residents of the area also slammed Jenrick, and hailed the area as vibrant and diverse. Jenrick, the Shadow Justice Secretary, made the remarks during a Conservative Association dinner in March after spending 90 minutes in the area filming a GB News segment about litter during a bin strike, the Daily Mail reported. Also Read: Amit Shah switches to homegrown Zoho Mail: Why the move matters for India’s tech sector? “I went to Handsworth in Birmingham the other day to do a video on litter, and it was absolutely appalling. It’s as close as I’ve come to a slum in this country. But the other thing I noticed there was that it was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to. In fact, in the hour and a half I was filming news there, I didn’t see another white face,” said the Guardian report, quoting his speech. “That’s not the kind of country I want to live in. I want to live in a country where people are properly integrated. It’s not about the colour of your skin or your faith, of course it isn’t. But I want people to be living alongside each other, not parallel lives. That’s not the right way we want to live as a country,” it added. Residents, business owners, and political leaders slam Jenrick The Tory MP’s remarks have roiled the residents, business owners, and political leaders, who described the area as vibrant and diverse and attacked him for painting a wrong image. The Birmingham City Council data cited by the Daily Mail says 8.7% of Handsworth’s population is white, with the majority being of Indian (2,736 residents) and Pakistani (2,962 residents) descent. Also Read: ‘Have to take it back’, says RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on PoK as it battles unrest Rishi Lothiyi, a British Indian consultant who grew up in Handsworth and married Kerry, a white British woman, said the MP must have been “drunk” to call the area poorly integrated. He described Soho Road as a “melting pot of cultures”. Ranjit Singh, the landlord of the last pub in the area, The Cross Guns, said his customers came from all colours and creeds, the Daily Mail report added. “I see white people here all the time. We have lots of Irish and English customers. Everybody gets along around here,” he said. Ayoub Khan, the MP for Perry Barr, called Jenrick’s remarks “repulsive” and “disingenuous”, adding that they carried “undertones of racism”. Bishop Desmond Jaddoo demanded an apology from Jenrick, calling his statements “divisive”. Also Read: Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand to visit India next week ‘Jenrick trying to divide communities for political gain’ Liz Davies, a retired teacher, said she has lived peacefully among Asian, Black, and Eastern European neighbours for over 40 years, and called the MP’s remarks “ignorant and ridiculous.” West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker accused Jenrick of trying to divide communities for political gain. “Handsworth is a community where people of different backgrounds live and work side by side,” said Parker and accused Jenrick of separating “people by the colour of their skin”. Most locals questioned Jenrick’s understanding of integration in modern Britain. Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said, “Robert Jenrick in his leaked comments reduces people to the colour of their skin and judges his own level of comfort by whether there are other white faces around.” WATCH: At Least 20 Children Dead Due to Alleged Consumption of Contaminated Cough Syrup https://www.wionews.com/videos/at-least-20-children-dead-due-to-alleged-consumption-of-contaminated-cough-syrup-1759926956059/embed

The remarks of Robert Jenrick have roiled the residents, business owners, and political leaders, who described the area as vibrant and diverse and attacked him for painting a wrong image. West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker accused him of trying to divide communities for political gain.

Tory MP labels area with Indian and Pakistani residents as ‘slum’  in UK, gets slammed

Right-wing candidates Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick won through Wednesday to the final round of the contest to become leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party -- seeking its sixth chief since the Brexit referendum of 2016.

The outspoken Badenoch received 42 votes from fellow Tory MPs while Jenrick picked up 41. Ex-foreign minister James Cleverly was surprisingly eliminated with 37 votes.

Conservative party members will now select the winner in a ballot that closes at the end of October, with the next leader announced on November 2.

The winner will have to reunite a fractious party, hurting from a brutal election defeat in July when it returned just 121 MPs -- the lowest number in its history. It also lost support to the hard-right Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ex-interior-minister-priti-patel-eliminated-from-uk-conservative-leadership-race-756081">Also read:&nbsp;Ex-interior minister Priti Patel eliminated from UK Conservative leadership race</a>

The Conservatives face a daunting rebuilding campaign to overturn Labour's 174-seat parliamentary majority at the next election, likely in five years.

But with British elections typically won from the centre, any lurch to the right could scupper that chance.

<h2>Badenoch&nbsp;</h2>

The British-Nigerian Badenoch is a right-wing firebrand, unafraid to speak her mind and not shy of picking a battle in the culture wars.

Badenoch, 44, has been an MP since 2017, representing an area in the southeastern English county of Essex.

Born in London to Nigerian parents, Badenoch spent much of her childhood in Lagos before returning to the UK aged 16.

She worked in IT and banking before launching into politics, rising to become a business minister in Rishi Sunak's government.

A self-described "sceptic" of net-zero carbon emissions, Badenoch is popular amongst Tory members who tend to be further right than many lawmakers.

She sparked a storm during the leadership contest when she suggested that statutory maternity pay on small businesses was "excessive".

Badenoch lashed out at the finance ministry, blaming it for a rise in immigration during the Conservatives' time in power from 2010.

She sparked a further furor when she joked that up to 10 per cent of Britain's half a million civil servants were so bad that they "should be in prison".

Badenoch, who says she grew up middle-class but "became working class... working in McDonald's", has promised to make Labour "wriggle" and "sweat" if elected leader.

"I will always fight against left-wing nonsense," she told the Conservatives' recent annual conference.

<h2>Jenrick&nbsp;</h2>

Jenrick, 42, was once considered so mild-mannered and middle-of-the-road that he was referred to in UK political circles as Robert "Generic".

In recent months the decade-long MP has been on a political journey rightwards, prompting some commentators to question his real views.

Jenrick resigned as immigration minister last December saying Sunak's plan to send undocumented migrants to Rwanda did not go far enough.

Watch |&nbsp;Who will replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader?

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He has called for Britain to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), claiming it made it "impossible to secure" UK borders.

In July last year, media reported that Jenrick had told staff to paint over murals depicting cartoons at an asylum centre because they were too welcoming for children.

Jenrick has put some of his recent weight loss down to the drug Ozempic and told the Tory conference he gave one of his three daughters the middle name Thatcher after the Conservative icon Margaret Thatcher.

"The leadership contest has come down to a three-week fight between two Thatcherite culture warriors, both of whom are in denial about why the party lost the election," Tim Bale, politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, told AFP.&nbsp;

"Badenoch is seen by right-wingers as the real deal, a politician who is genuinely obsessed with combatting what they see as 'wokery' in all its forms, said Bale, who wrote a book on the Tories since Brexit.

"Jenrick attracts more suspicion because he's shape-shifted from a standard issue, centre-right careerist into a hard-liner - so much so that he often appears, as was the case in his speech to the Tory conference in Birmingham, to be trying too hard."

Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION&nbsp;audience.

Right-wing candidates Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick won through Wednesday to the final round of the contest to become leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party -- seeking its sixth chief since the Brexit referendum of 2016.

Right-wing candidates Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick won through Wednesday to the final round of the contest to become leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party -- seeking its sixth chief since the Brexit referendum of 2016. The outspoken Badenoch received 42 votes from fellow Tory MPs while Jenrick picked up 41. Ex-foreign minister James Cleverly was surprisingly eliminated with 37 votes. Conservative party members will now select the winner in a ballot that closes at the end of October, with the next leader announced on November 2. The winner will have to reunite a fractious party, hurting from a brutal election defeat in July when it returned just 121 MPs -- the lowest number in its history. It also lost support to the hard-right Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage. Also read: Ex-interior minister Priti Patel eliminated from UK Conservative leadership race The Conservatives face a daunting rebuilding campaign to overturn Labour's 174-seat parliamentary majority at the next election, likely in five years. But with British elections typically won from the centre, any lurch to the right could scupper that chance. Badenoch The British-Nigerian Badenoch is a right-wing firebrand, unafraid to speak her mind and not shy of picking a battle in the culture wars. Badenoch, 44, has been an MP since 2017, representing an area in the southeastern English county of Essex. Born in London to Nigerian parents, Badenoch spent much of her childhood in Lagos before returning to the UK aged 16. She worked in IT and banking before launching into politics, rising to become a business minister in Rishi Sunak's government. A self-described "sceptic" of net-zero carbon emissions, Badenoch is popular amongst Tory members who tend to be further right than many lawmakers. She sparked a storm during the leadership contest when she suggested that statutory maternity pay on small businesses was "excessive". Badenoch lashed out at the finance ministry, blaming it for a rise in immigration during the Conservatives' time in power from 2010. She sparked a further furor when she joked that up to 10 per cent of Britain's half a million civil servants were so bad that they "should be in prison". Badenoch, who says she grew up middle-class but "became working class... working in McDonald's", has promised to make Labour "wriggle" and "sweat" if elected leader. "I will always fight against left-wing nonsense," she told the Conservatives' recent annual conference. Jenrick Jenrick, 42, was once considered so mild-mannered and middle-of-the-road that he was referred to in UK political circles as Robert "Generic". In recent months the decade-long MP has been on a political journey rightwards, prompting some commentators to question his real views. Jenrick resigned as immigration minister last December saying Sunak's plan to send undocumented migrants to Rwanda did not go far enough. Watch | Who will replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader? × He has called for Britain to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), claiming it made it "impossible to secure" UK borders. In July last year, media reported that Jenrick had told staff to paint over murals depicting cartoons at an asylum centre because they were too welcoming for children. Jenrick has put some of his recent weight loss down to the drug Ozempic and told the Tory conference he gave one of his three daughters the middle name Thatcher after the Conservative icon Margaret Thatcher. "The leadership contest has come down to a three-week fight between two Thatcherite culture warriors, both of whom are in denial about why the party lost the election," Tim Bale, politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, told AFP. "Badenoch is seen by right-wingers as the real deal, a politician who is genuinely obsessed with combatting what they see as 'wokery' in all its forms, said Bale, who wrote a book on the Tories since Brexit. "Jenrick attracts more suspicion because he's shape-shifted from a standard issue, centre-right careerist into a hard-liner - so much so that he often appears, as was the case in his speech to the Tory conference in Birmingham, to be trying too hard." Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.

James Cleverly eliminated, Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick to be part of UK's Tory leadership race

Rishi Sunak's immigration policy and its success is likely to be a key part of the fortunes of the Conservative Party going forward and now that ruling party is in a dilemma after its Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick resigned.

UK: Rwanda plan at centre of Sunak's immigration policy; Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick resigns

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Tory MP labels area with Indian and Pakistani residents as ‘slum’ in UK, gets slammed

James Cleverly eliminated, Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick to be part of UK's Tory leadership race

UK: Rwanda plan at centre of Sunak's immigration policy; Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick resigns