Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she will not be stepping aside as leader this weekend if the local elections go badly for the Conservatives.
Speaking to Political Editor Christopher Hope on GB News, Kemi Badenoch said:
“What we are seeing is a very challenging time for Conservatives. The last time we fought these seats we were riding on a poor high during the vaccine bounce. We won two thirds of the seats that we stood in – that’s unprecedented. No party has ever done that before.
“So of course, we know that there will be a correction. Last year we also had our most historic election defeat. It’s going to take time to come back from that, but I was elected to renew the Conservative Party. That doesn’t happen in a matter of weeks or months. We’ve got a long road ahead, but the work has already started. We are rebuilding trust with the public.
“We are fighting for every single seat. We know that it will be challenging in some counties, but at the end of the day, Conservative councils deliver better services for lower taxes.
“I’m not playing guess the number, we don’t want to talk about numbers. We want to talk about what our offer to the public is, because it’s not just about winning. What are we winning for? And it’s who’s going to fix the roads, who’s going to look after Adult Social Care, children’s social care.
“I think it’s completely ludicrous to be talking about changing another leader just six months in. Four years ago, Keir Starmer had a terrible local election results, and look where he is today. Local elections are not an opinion poll. They are about who’s going to run the very best services.
“Right now, what we’re seeing is that protest parties are doing well because people are unhappy with the Labour Government. Unemployment is up, growth has halved, and we need to talk about where our economy is going with Labour.”
Jenrick “is doing a great job” as shadow Justice Secretary, says Badenoch:
“I did think that was a very funny joke by Keir Starmer [in PMQs]. It’s nice to see that once in a while, he’s got a sense of humour; most of the time he doesn’t.
“I appointed Rob [Jenrick] to be shadow Justice Secretary. He is doing a great job. He’s holding two tier Kier’s feet to the fire on justice. I want him to keep doing that.”
Responding to Farage’s comments that the Conservatives won’t exist at the next General Election, she said:
“He wishes. The Conservative Party is the longest existing Party in the history of democracy. We have a great history. We’ve had ups and downs, but that doesn’t mean that we are out. And what I’m doing is making sure that the Conservative Party does more than just survive, that it thrives, and that is what we’re working on, fighting for every single vote and rebuilding trust with the public.”
Rape gang victims want a national inquiry, says Kemi Badenoch:
“I am beginning to wonder whether [Starmer] is afraid of what a national inquiry will uncover. In January, he promised five local inquiries, not good enough, but he said, we’ll have five.
“As of today, it’s four months in, nothing has happened, and you can’t expect local councils to investigate themselves. You can’t compel witnesses; people aren’t giving evidence under oath. We need a full national inquiry.
“Even Labour politicians like Andy Burnham and Harriet Harman have said, let’s have a national inquiry. But do you know who really wants a national inquiry? The victims, and that’s who I’m speaking for. [They have told me] many times.”
Kneecap should be prosecuted, says Badenoch.
“This band should not be playing at Glastonbury. What it needs is to be prosecuted. I refused money to this band and when Labour came in, they gave them that money. That’s the difference between Labour and Conservatives.
“Labor won’t fight for our values. They won’t fight for this country. They give money to people who are anti British, who talk down the UK, who promote Hezbollah and Hamas and actually ask people to kill MPs. I think that’s disgusting. They should be prosecuted.”
“I feed very vindicated” on net zero.
“I feel very vindicated. I have been talking about net zero and not having a plan since 2019. So I’m glad that six years in Tony Blair, a former Labour leader, is beginning to see that I was right. Let’s hope that other party leaders start following.
“The Conservative policy has always been to maintain the triple lock. It’s our policy, but we’re not in government now, and we need to make sure that while we have all the commitments to maintain the triple lock, that we also look at what is happening to the economy.
