I'm a classic old school Conservative, says Kemi Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch opened the Conservative Party’s annual conference in Birmingham by branding herself a “classic old‑school Conservative” and laying out a 100‑page manifesto titled The Right Way, deliberately echoing Margaret Thatcher’s 1976 essay The Right Approach. In an interview with BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg she stressed “common sense, people working hard and being rewarded for that effort,” and framed welfare as a “safety net, not a lifestyle.” Her policy slate included ending the childcare “cliff edge” that bars families earning over £100,000 from entitlement, delivering 50,000 new prison places funded by cutting overseas aid to £1 billion a year, and slashing the civil service back to pre‑pandemic levels. Badenoch also dismissed Reform leader Nigel Farage as a “grumpy grandpa” and Labour leader Andy Burnham as a “cheesy uncle who does all the dad jokes,” positioning herself as the party’s more appealing figurehead amid poll lows that see the Tories trailing Labour and Reform UK after their 2024 electoral defeat.

The conference’s core message was that the previous 14‑year Conservative government failed because it lacked a clear identity and did not reverse structural changes introduced by Labour, which Badenoch argues sent the country “in the wrong direction.” Her essay argues the next Conservative administration must adopt a single principle: “business, not government, creates growth,” achieved through tax cuts, deregulation, and a reduced civil service. She warned that modern politics needs leaders willing to say “no” to popular but unsustainable initiatives, emphasizing a need for fiscal restraint and a rejection of “good causes” that cannot be funded. The party also pledged to overhaul the prison system, noting that over the past 14 years only a net 500 places were added despite 14,142 new or existing jail spaces being built and 13,660 lost to closures and dilapidation.

Badenoch’s speech sought to portray a party that has moved beyond the 2024 debacle, promising lively debates and internal challenges that would leave the Conservatives “united.” She appealed to national cohesion, warning against “little ghettos of separatist communities” and asserting that British culture “means something.” Labour chair Bridget Phillipson countered that the Tories remain “stuck in the past” and out of touch, citing Andy Burnham’s recent plan to “bring back hope to Britain.” The conference’s proposals, especially the childcare cliff‑edge removal and the ambitious prison expansion funded by aid cuts, set the stage for internal party discussions and will test whether Badenoch’s personal popularity can translate into broader electoral recovery for a party still reeling from its historic 2024 loss.

⚡ Effects Interpreter