Kemi Badenoch says there is no ‘quick fix’ for Conservative Party
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch insisted she would not be rushed into policy roles, claiming there were no “quick fixes” after the party’s defeat at July’s election.
Badnock becomes the party’s sixth leader When she was elected in early November, less than nine years had passed.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that the public had “kicked out” the Conservatives because the party was not trusted and had not delivered on its promises, adding that building trust “took a while”.
Badenock also dismissed concerns that her approach of not settling on policy positions could leave a vacuum that could be filled by Reform Britain.
In an interview with Amol Rajan, Badnock said: “Reform is empty talk because it is not thought through. If you haven’t thought through it, you can give simple answers.”
“I’ve thought about it and what people are going to get under my new leadership is thoughtful conservatism rather than knee-jerk analysis.”
“We care about what we are for, not just what we are against,” she said in an earlier interview.
Badenock said she would not “rush to announce” policy positions within six weeks and that people needed to be “patient” but she wanted to make sure people believed she was telling the truth so she could earn their trust.
In response, Reform Party leader Nigel Farage said that the Conservative leader “does not understand that the level of betrayal means the rupture of the Conservative brand. She bears a huge personal responsibility for this.”
In the leadership race, Badenock has studiously avoided specific policy positions, focusing instead on the Conservative Party’s “principles.”
But some in the party – including Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen – have warned against leaving gaps on key issues such as immigration that could be filled with reform.
Houchen told the BBC this month it was a “huge opportunity” for the Conservatives as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer “left the battlefield” on immigration and called on the party to come up with a “sensible narrative” “.
‘Let people down’
Badenock admitted in the interview Again saying her party was “letting people down” in the area of immigration.
She said the number was too high Previously promised to limit the number of people entering the UK – although she didn’t specify what level she considered acceptable.
net migration Record high in the year to June 2023 – There is a difference of 906,000 between the number of people arriving and leaving the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Net headcount fell to 728,000 in the year to June 2024.
The former Conservative government’s main immigration policy was the Rwanda deportation scheme, which was specifically designed to stop small boats crossing the border.
After multiple legal challenges, no flights were able to fly to the East African country ahead of the July election, with Labor quickly scrapping the scheme after coming to power.
The new government focuses on cracking down on criminal gangs involved in human smuggling. Sir Keir announces £75m extra In November, he went to the UK border to police the border.
At a press conference last month, Badenock said the Conservatives still believed “deterrence” was necessary but stopped short of committing to reviving the Rwanda plan.
In the TODAY interview, Badenock also acknowledged that local elections due to take place next May will be difficult for her party, but said it was a marathon, not a sprint.
“There is a change of leadership in the Conservative Party and I think voters will start to see that, but it will be slow and steady. It’s a tortoise strategy, not a hare strategy,” she said.
A Labor spokesman said: “Kemi Badenock makes it clearer every time she speaks that she has no solutions to the problems the Conservatives have created.
“Under her leadership, the Conservatives have made billions of dollars’ worth of unfunded spending promises without explaining how she would pay for any of them.”
Musk’s “challenge”
Farage told the BBC last week that reforms ‘Open negotiations’ with US billionaire Elon Musk over donations to the party.
Mr Musk will start serving in the US government in January, with President-elect Donald Trump appointing him to head the Department of Government Effectiveness (Doge).
Asked if she was concerned about the prospect of Musk donating to reform groups, Badenock downplayed the possibility of that happening but said she “believes in competition.”
“So I think if Elon Musk is giving money to a political party, a rival party, then that’s a challenge for me to make sure that I’m raising the same money,” she said.
She said this could be “counterproductive” to reform and claimed Britons “don’t necessarily like to see politics being bought off”.
