What ignites the political right like nothing else? Grooming gangs. The Conservative Party has launched 2025 by putting this issue front and centre. Kemi Badenoch, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, posted on X yesterday: “The time is long overdue for a full national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal… No one in authority has joined the dots. 2025 must be the year that the victims start to get justice.”
Reform Party MPs and Elon Musk, a vocal online force, have echoed her call. In principle, it’s difficult to disagree. The abuse and trauma suffered by thousands of young girls at the hands of grooming gangs is an unforgivable blight on British society. Authorities, cowed by institutional failings and fear of addressing uncomfortable truths, have failed these victims profoundly.
A grim legacy of failures
The litany of horrors is undeniable. Authorities failed to act on clear signs of abuse, and perpetrators often escaped scrutiny. Take Bannaras Hussain, a member of the Rotherham grooming gang, who was found by police officers assaulting a girl in a car park. Instead of intervening, they turned a blind eye. Years later, he was convicted of multiple charges, including rape and procuring women for prostitution.
This wasn’t an isolated incident. The scars of such systemic failures run deep, with many victims still grappling with the aftermath. Meanwhile, many perpetrators remain unaccounted for, and vulnerable children continue to slip through the cracks. Grooming gangs are far from a resolved issue, but Badenoch’s rhetoric risks obscuring the complexities of the problem.
Weaponising tragedy
Unfortunately, the tragic failings surrounding grooming gangs have been weaponised by far-right factions, using them as a platform for anti-immigration agendas. Figures like Tommy Robinson, currently imprisoned for contempt of court, have spread falsehoods and exploited these cases to further their divisive narratives.
Yes, Pakistani men have been disproportionately implicated in reported grooming gang cases, but the broader picture is more complex. Are they overrepresented as paedophiles? The data doesn’t conclusively say so. In fact, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) highlighted in 2022 that 33% of contact sexual offences against children were committed by family members—emphasising the need for nuanced research and policy-making rather than generalised blame.
Missed opportunities for action
The IICSA’s final report made 19 recommendations, including amending the Children Act 1989 and appointing a cabinet-level Minister for Children. While Rishi Sunak’s government pledged to “clamp down on grooming gangs,” the response fell short of fully implementing these recommendations.
Kemi Badenoch’s position within that government complicates her current calls for action. As Minister for Women and Equalities during this period, she had an opportunity to champion these reforms but failed to do so. Her recent calls for an inquiry, while appearing proactive, sidestep the fact that much of this work has already been done—or ignored—by her own party.
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The hard work of addressing root causes
The reality is that solving the problem of child sexual exploitation requires more than grandstanding. It demands addressing systemic failures in social services, law enforcement, and community engagement. Child abuse is not confined to any single demographic or cultural group. Even if immigration were halted tomorrow, the root causes of exploitation and abuse would persist.
Efforts to tackle these issues have been initiated, with researchers and policymakers working to understand and prevent abuse. However, their work is often overshadowed by sensationalist rhetoric that oversimplifies complex issues.
A question of motives
Badenoch’s recent comments seem less about justice for victims and more about political positioning. Criticising Labour’s record while ignoring her own government’s inaction suggests opportunism rather than genuine concern. It’s easier to call for new inquiries than to build on the findings of existing ones, especially when those findings demand difficult, unglamorous work.
Hollow promises
The victims of grooming gangs deserve more than performative outrage. They need systemic reform, robust support services, and accountability for those who failed them. By reducing this issue to a political talking point, Badenoch risks undermining the very justice she claims to seek.
If the government is serious about addressing grooming gangs, it must engage with the hard truths and commit to real change—not just for 2025, but for generations to come. Anything less rings hollow.
