Kemi Badenoch has insisted the Conservative Party conference is “buzzing” after facing ridicule over empty seats in the main hall. The Opposition leader said she has “absolutely no idea what you’re talking about” when questioned over jokes about turnout made by political opponents and commentators including Jeremy Clarkson.
Clarkson's quip and Labour's jab
Appearing onstage as a surprise guest at the conference in Birmingham on Monday, the farmer and TV personality had quipped that “a lot of people have come dressed as seats”. Labour later shared a screenshot of a sparsely attended main hall at the beginning of a speech by shadow education secretary Laura Trott on social media, writing: “People disguised as chairs latest.”
Badenoch's response
Asked whether Clarkson’s observation had been embarrassing, Mrs Badenoch told Channel 5 News: “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. This conference is buzzing. We have many more people than last year. I saw Jeremy Clarkson, I saw Jeremy Clarkson’s event – people were standing up, you could barely see him.”
She added: “There were loud cheers. I was at a Young Conservatives event last night where you could barely get in. It was absolutely heaving. So maybe you should go to where the people are. I know the media always wants to talk about how quiet the conference is, we’re actually having a great conference.”
Party's future plans
In a rallying speech on Sunday, Mrs Badenoch insisted the Conservatives “will win” the next general election as she seeks to reverse the party’s fortunes after its worst ever electoral defeat in 2024. With Labour leading recent opinion polls despite an increase in her personal approval ratings, the Tory leader said on Tuesday she was “working on fixing the brand and that means going back to our core principles”.
“What we’ve seen is that we’re in an era of multi-party politics. We had a government that came in with a landslide and the prime minister is out,” she said. “Politics is volatile. What I’m showing is that this Conservative Party is different from the one people said no thanks to in 2024. I know that people are warming towards me. I now need to show them that the Conservative Party is a different party. I’m working on fixing the brand and that means going back to our core principles.”
