Kemi Badenoch has declared she is ready for a political battle on two fronts, taking on both Labour's Andy Burnham and Reform UK's Nigel Farage. The Conservative leader made the remarks ahead of the party's annual conference in Birmingham, where she will outline her vision for the party's future.
Rebuilding from Defeat
Two years ago, the Conservative Party was in ruins after a catastrophic general election defeat to Labour, ending 14 years in power. Badenoch ultimately won the leadership contest, defeating James Cleverly and Robert Jenrick. Now, the party returns to Birmingham as a political force once more.
Badenoch has reignited a spark in her party, giving hope to thousands of supporters heading to the Midlands this weekend. The Tories are challenging both Labour and Reform UK in the polls, with the party appearing united and making policy announcements.
However, Badenoch insists there is still much more work to do. "I was told that nobody would even want to hear from us for the first two years. That's not the case," she said in an interview at her Westminster office. "They've seen us hold Keir Starmer's administration to account, and they're going to see us do that again with Andy Burnham."
She added: "The second thing is that the more people see of Reform, the less they like. They're not really providing the depth that you would want to see from a government. But I still have a long way to go to get where I want to be, which is a majority in Parliament. That is the ambition. I'm confident we can do it, but we're not out of the woods yet."
Economic Battle Lines
Badenoch is relishing a formidable two-front war, taking on both "old-school socialist" Burnham and "Grumpy Grandpa" Farage. "I'm up for the fight," the 46-year-old said.
Despite her personal popularity, the party is lagging behind in the polls. She hopes a recent refresh of her top team, including new shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith, will change that. The economy is both the Tories' Achilles heel and one of its biggest weapons.
Trust was blown after the Liz Truss era, but alarm bells are ringing after two years of a Labour government that has embarked on a tax rise frenzy since 2024. The Tories are assembling a fiscally responsible economic blueprint. Badenoch's golden economic rule is that every penny saved from curbing the £350 billion welfare bill will be used to lower taxes for working people, abolish punitive local business charges, and slash deficits.
Last year's pledge to abolish Stamp Duty on residential properties was well received, as were pro-business promises, help for high streets, and plans to remove VAT on domestic energy for three years.
Welfare and Policy Plans
Badenoch criticised Burnham's lurch to 1970s-style socialism of mass nationalisation, his plans to axe the pension triple lock, reverse Brexit, and his declaration of war on the UK's voting system. For her, this isn't just bad politics, "it is dangerous for Britain". "That's why I'm the best person to take him on because my policies are rooted very firmly in Conservative principles," she said.
At conference, she will announce plans to "put the fair back in welfare", including a new pledge to stop under-25s with less than six months of continuous work from signing straight onto Universal Credit. As a bit of fun, the Tories will display an 88ft-long illustration of Labour's first two years in power in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry, featuring 150 taxpayers being shot in the eye with a tax arrow.
Badenoch played down speculation that she will scrap Inheritance Tax if she becomes Prime Minister, but she argued: "If you've got a family business or a family farm, you've worked hard, you should be able to hand that down. These are the people who create jobs in our economy. It's not Andy Burnham making more mayors that's going to grow the economy; it's going to be those people."
Preparing for Power
The party is preparing for power with seriousness. Fearing Burnham may call a surprise snap election to capitalise on a short-term poll bounce, Badenoch demanded formal pre-election access talks with Cabinet Secretary Dame Antonia Romeo. The move is designed to ensure civil servants start working immediately on her radical plans, including leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), instituting strict border control, and enforcing a "detain and deport" system for illegal migrants.
A year ago, Nigel Farage and Reform UK appeared almost unstoppable. Now, the party is engulfed in financial scandals over a £5 million undeclared gift from a crypto-billionaire and hit by an explosive Channel 4 investigation into party donor irregularities. Key aides Dan Jukes and James Orr have stood down, while Farage resorted to a bizarre, self-triggered by-election in Clacton to dodge parliamentary ethics scrutiny.
Badenoch has shown no mercy in dismantling Farage's pretensions, describing any Tory-Reform pact as "monstrous". Recent polling by YouGov shows Badenoch surging ahead of Farage by more than two to one when voters are asked who would make the best Prime Minister (38% to 17%). A large-scale seat-by-seat poll by YouGov suggests the UK is heading for a hung parliament with Labour the largest party with 241 seats, the Conservatives in second with 130 seats, and Reform in third with 123 seats.
Some senior Tories don't think the party is ready for an election yet. One told this week: "Kemi has done a great job after a quiet first year but we are not ready yet. If the polls give him confidence then Burnham should do it now because us and Reform are effectively cancelling each other out. But we are on an upward curve and it won't be long before we will be the dominant party on the Right. We need Burnham to go long."
The Conservatives' £10 million in donations in the first half of this year put the party ahead of Labour. They also have a new headquarters, the focal point of a very organised party machine. But Badenoch has faced criticism for banning former ministers, such as Grant Shapps and Penny Mordaunt, from the list of Tory candidates. Some say she fears a leadership challenge before the next election if she doesn't turn things around in the polls.
The party's poll rating has largely stayed the same since she took over as leader in 2024. The next six months are likely to be the most important of Badenoch's leadership so far. Birmingham, the scene of Tory ground zero, will now witness a party on its way to being rebuilt.
