Kemi Badenoch delivered her first and likely last Conservative Party conference leader's speech, with the audience cheering and clapping to convince themselves the event had not been a waste of time. The speech was described as adequate, a triumph by the standards of the past few days, but ultimately an exercise in sub-par performance politics.
Badenoch sounded confident, though it was unclear whether she had reconciled herself to the inevitable or was divorced from reality. She made jokes, some almost passable, and big-ticket announcements, but also included mindless filler. The speech was a ritual to be endured, making sense only if one suspended disbelief and ignored the nonsense.
She claimed the Tories could deliver a stronger economy and secure borders, despite the party having trashed the economy and opened borders to mass migration during 14 years in power. No apologies were offered. Badenoch also referenced rescuing the country from fascism in 1940, yet did not rebuke Tories playing the race card, and aimed most barbs at Labour rather than Reform, despite the party haemorrhaging support to Nigel Farage.
She complained about young people no longer being enthusiastic and hopeful, ignoring the government's role, and moaned about Poland's success, potentially linked to EU membership. The speech included a recap of mad policies announced during the week, after she had previously said she would not bother with them until 2027.
