Tory leader says delay will harm children’s mental health after No 10 said it would consult on policy by summer
As a parent – and a Conservative – I know that banning social media for under-16s is the right thing to do
Kemi Badenoch has called on Keir Starmer to “just get on” with a ban on social media for under-16s, saying delay is a dereliction of duty that is harming children’s mental health.
After the government said it would consult on a social media ban for under-16s by the summer, the Conservative party leader urged the prime minister to act more quickly, “however difficult to implement” it would be.
Badenoch’s comments will add to pressure on the government as peers prepare to vote on an amendment to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill on Wednesday that would enact a ban within a year of it passing. The government is understood to want to wait to assess the evidence from Australia’s ban, which came into force in December.
