The Conservative leader got off to a slow start, but now she’s motoring and taking the fight to her opponents
Kemi Badenoch delivers her conference speech (Image: Getty)
I’m a believer. In Kemi, that is. I’ve attended three party conferences in recent weeks – Reform, Labour and Conservative. I came away convinced, for the first time, that Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has a real chance of becoming prime minister.
Here are the reasons why:
1. She’s the most improved party leader
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Kemi Badenoch got off to a slow start. She’s admitted it herself, saying she’s got better as she learned how to do the job of Leader of the Opposition. When she was first elected Tory leader in 2024, plenty of her own MPs thought she’d be replaced before the next election.
Nobody is saying that now. She’s won the respect of her party and people who watch politics closely by taking the fight to Labour and winning. She battled the Government over its decisions to cut winter fuel payments, destroy family farms, and appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador, and forced them into U-turns every time. And the wider public is beginning to notice.
2. She understands her weaknesses
Polling shows that Kemi Badenoch has a better approval rating than most of her rivals – and it’s still getting better. In other words, the public likes her (or at least dislikes her less than they dislike most politicians).
But voters still don’t like the Conservative Party. So she’s done two things. One is constantly reminding people that the Conservative Party is “under new management” – and speaking bluntly about its past mistakes. She doesn’t fall into the trap of trying to tell voters they are wrong.
The second, as we saw in the recent Conservative conference, is to start talking about her team. In fact, in her conference speech, she said repeatedly that she had “a great team” – a phrase she used on three different occasions. Far from seeing her Shadow Cabinet colleagues as rivals, she’s secure enough that she wants some of the Kemi magic to rub off on them.
3. She’s rejected a pact with Reform
Some Conservatives want to “unite the Right” and bring Reform and the Conservatives together. You can understand why – perhaps one united party, or an alliance of the two, would have a better chance of beating Labour.
If Reform and the Conservatives stand against each other in every seat, they could split the vote and allow Labour to win. But a deal with Reform could be fatal.
Conservatives have always been a broad church. Some Right-wing Tory MPs hate to admit it, but the party always had a place for moderates, liberals, “wets”, the one-nation tendency – call them what you will. And when it has won elections, it’s often been by appealing to centre-ground voters. That’s how David Cameron achieved his majority in 2015.
Boris Johnson was associated with Brexit, often seen as a Right-wing policy. But in other respects, he presented himself as a One Nation, liberal Conservative, and won an overwhelming majority in 2019.
Tories need centre-ground voters, but a deal with Reform would mean they abandoned the Conservatives for good. Kemi herself is a Right-wing politician, but she’s got enough common sense to know an alliance with Nigel Farage could be the end of her party.
4. She’s aiming to win
And speaking of moderate voters, this is the group that the Conservative Party is now focusing on. While the party still has a lot to say about immigration and Brexit, it is now talking more about the economy, the cost of living and the practical steps it will take to help middle-class voters keep more of their own money.
Kemi’s first two years as leader were about seeing off the threat from Nigel Farage and Reform. She now feels confident enough to think more about how she can actually win a general election and storm into No 10.
5. She’s a great speaker
What impressed me about Kemi Badenoch’s conference speech was the sense that she really meant what she said. She has convictions. And yes, in that regard, she is a bit like Margaret Thatcher, her political hero.
Some people feel Kemi Badenoch is too combative. She can sound like she’s spoiling for a fight (again, just like Maggie). She can also turn on the charm when she wants to.
But the UK doesn’t need a charming man in No 10. They need someone ready to battle for Britain, and Kemi’s certainly up for the fight.
Major petition for Britain to rejoin the EU passes massive milestone
The Prime Minister has said a second referendum could be included in Labour’s next general election manifesto.
Andy Burnham wants the UK to have a closer relationship with the EU (Image: Getty)
A major petition urging the UK to start negotiations to rejoin the European Union has passed a major milestone. The online document set up by Robert McMaster in June has now garnered more than 11,000 signatures. This means the Government will issue a response. The petition states: “10 years after the Brexit referendum and 6 years after leaving the EU, it is clear to us that Brexit isn’t working. We believe any benefits have been dwarfed by loss of influence, extra costs and the inefficiencies it has created.
“We think it is time for the Government to Apply to Rejoin the European Union. While we might not get the same deal as before we nonetheless believe that it would reduce the damage caused by Brexit and help restore our influence by becoming a full member of the EU again.
“The UK is a large country but is still small in world terms. We feel that improving cooperation with our neighbours will help increase economic stability and strengthen international influence, since relying on distant partners alone is not sufficient.
“We firmly believe that our future is best secured as part of a strong, united and democratic Europe.” The Prime Minister has not ruled out the UK’s future re-entry into the EU.
Mr Burnham said in Berlin this week: “The time has come to think more seriously about growth, and obviously we know growth can come from that closer relationship. We have a UK-EU summit in front of us before the end of the year and I think it is important that we can show that growth comes from co-operation, as I believe it can do, as well as facing joint challenges together.”
He added: “It feels to me that the world as it is, is bringing us closer together. It’s making us more closely aligned. We already are very close partners, but UK and Germany becomes a more important axis as we go into the next next period.”
Brits voted to leave the EU in 2016 (Image: Getty)
The petition will stay open until December 24. Mr McMaster is a member of Berkshire for Europe, a local chapter of European Movement UK. Another petition of his passed 110,000 signatures.
It stated: “10 years after the Brexit vote and 6 years since the UK left the EU, it has become clear that Brexit has failed and that the UK public no longer supports leaving the EU, with a clear majority wishing to return. Recent Government statements make it clear that it wishes the UK to have closer relations with the EU, but nothing comes close to being as beneficial for the UK as rejoining the EU as a full member where we will be able to take a full part and have a full say in its deliberations (even if the terms are not the same as last time, and we urgently need pro-EU groups to lead a proper debate on what that might mean).”
When it reached 100,000 signatures, the organiser warned that he will not give up.
“This is the third petition to Apply to Rejoin the EU to the current Government, and the second to reach 100,000 signatures,” he wrote. “The first led to a three-hour debate in Parliament in March last year where 42 MPs spoke for an average of four minutes each, 38 of whom criticised the Government’s stance, with only four supporting Brexit – the official Government spokesperson, a Conservative Minister and two Northern Ireland MPs. (No Reform MPs bothered to attend.)
“We hope this petition will lead to a second debate where another 40 MPs can tell the Government what they and their constituents think, and encourage signatories of the petition to write to MPs with their own stories and to ask them to attend.
“And that it will be followed by further petitions every six months (the lifetime of petitions on the Parliament website) with increasing numbers of signatures until the Government changes stance and applies to rejoin.”
