Kemi Badenoch

What is circulating

“Asked at Prime Minister's Questions on 10 December 2025 about teacher numbers in England, Starmer said they were "more than when the Conservatives left office."”

Claimed by Keir Starmer, then UK Prime Minister · official statement

The facts

Full Fact said the claim was not supported by the latest figures, which showed a fall. There were 468,258 full-time equivalent teachers in England's state schools in November 2024, a net fall of about 400 from a year earlier, as primary teachers fell by 2,900 while secondary rose by 1,400. Full Fact noted the data did not yet cover changes after November 2024.

Fact check: Full Fact · Fact check: Full Fact

What is circulating

“In her Budget response on 26 November 2025, Badenoch said: "There are a million more people claiming Universal Credit than there were at the time of the last budget."”

Claimed by Kemi Badenoch, Conservative Party leader · official statement

The facts

Full Fact said the statement was narrowly true but does not mean what it seems. Claimants rose from about 7.16 million in October 2024 to about 8.28 million in October 2025, roughly 1.1 million, but much of that reflects people moved from older benefits: 983,237 received migration notices in the year to September 2025 and 817,117 had claimed.

Fact check: Full Fact

What is circulating

“Responding to the Budget on 26 November 2025, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said unemployment "is up every single month since Labour have been in office."”

Claimed by Kemi Badenoch, Conservative Party leader · official statement

The facts

Full Fact said the claim was not quite correct. The number of unemployed people rose by about 309,000 between May to July 2024 and July to September 2025, but there were several small monthly falls along the way, and the ONS urges caution because survey response rates are low.

Fact check: Full Fact