Kemi Badenoch, sitting alongside survivor Fiona Goddard, laid out her plan to be at the forefront of the national response to one of the biggest scandals this country has ever seen. The Tory leader, buoyant from weeks of tearing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer apart over the economy, benefits and the chaos inside Downing Street, adopted a more stateswoman-like to call for collective action against the rape gangs.
Her Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp, even indicated they’d be delighted if the Government adopted their plans in full.
But there is no doubt there is an obvious political angle to this.
And an advantage to being seen as the party on the side of victims and survivors after they have endured decades of failures, neglect and cover-ups.
The renowned TV presenter, and former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Trevor Phillips, exposed Labour's problem on this crisis earlier this year when he said the party's response to the scandal since taking office had been “so obviously political” because they were fearful of offending Muslim and Pakistani voters.
Labour, many on the right of British politics believe, is caught in a bind on this issue because they could end up upsetting many of their voters.
And Mrs Badenoch has put the issue of ethnicity and culture at the heart of her plans.
The inquiry, the Conservative leader said, must “leave no stone unturned” and explore these areas in depth. Labour are now being forced to address it, despite the potential political implications.
And her determination to seize the moment and avoid the mistakes of the past, where issues got swept under the carpet, was clear when she said cultural institutions, such as mosques, could be compelled to give evidence.
Thus, this press conference told us two very important things about Kemi Badenoch.
One, she is willing to work cross-party to fix some of the biggest issues of our time. A similar offer, you may remember, was made after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced her plans to overhaul the asylum system. It’s becoming a bit of a pattern…
But two, the Tory leader is willing to speak uncomfortable truths. She’s willing to upset people in the pursuit of what is right.
And many survivors will welcome this.
Because, for years, they’ve felt ignored, abandoned and betrayed by a political class who didn’t seem to be bothered about their abuse. Politicians were more concerned about avoiding awkward conversations.
Bringing every perpetrator to justice, and jailing those involved in the cover-up, is the bare minimum the state can do to right the wrongs of this scandal.
For, all the while the focus is on the gangs we already know exist, there are intensifying fears girls are being groomed and raped right now. There are new victims because the state has, for decades, failed to address this issue properly for fear of being labelled racist and in aid of protecting community cohesion.
The pain of this scandal has cut so deep. And it may take decades to recover from.
