Kemi Badenoch slams Labour as ‘clueless’ in leadership bid
Badenoch criticises Labour's financial policies in Tory leadership campaign
Kemi Badenoch, a prominent Tory leadership candidate, will launch her campaign today with sharp criticism of the Labour government, labelling it as ‘clueless, irresponsible, and dishonest.’
In a Westminster speech, the former Business Secretary will accuse Sir Keir Starmer’s administration of deceiving voters on various issues. She will argue that Labour will ‘fail’ and that the public is already ‘yearning for something better’ within less than 60 days of Sir Keir’s tenure in Downing Street.
Simultaneously, former Home Secretary James Cleverly will kick off his campaign focusing on policy and principles. He will argue that only ‘Conservative solutions’ can address Britain’s challenges, advocating for a smaller state that excels in fewer tasks rather than doing many poorly.
Left: Kemi Badenoch, "Principles are the fundamentals. They give us direction, unity, and certainty. They must underpin everything we do. Here are a few of my principles"
Right: Kemi Badenoch, "Ten years ago I hacked into a Labour MP's website" pic.twitter.com/7NW6wPeOqp
— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) September 2, 2024
Last night, Cleverly announced plans to abolish stamp duty, describing it as a ‘bad tax’ in an article for The Daily Telegraph, aiming to help more buyers enter the housing market.
This comes as Tory MPs gear up for the first round of voting on Wednesday, where the candidate with the least support will be eliminated. Six MPs are in the race for the party leadership: Robert Jenrick, James Cleverly, Priti Patel, Mel Stride, Tom Tugendhat, and Kemi Badenoch.
Priti Patel began her campaign on Friday, while Tom Tugendhat will launch his tomorrow. Robert Jenrick, who started his campaign a month ago, gave another speech in London yesterday, warning that Labour plans a ‘declaration of war on the middle classes’ with upcoming tax hikes.
Badenoch is expected to criticise Labour for being ‘dishonest’ about the UK’s financial state, highlighting more than £10 billion in public sector pay hikes. She will also condemn Labour for stripping up to 10 million pensioners of their winter fuel payments and for a civil service appointments ‘cronyism’ row.
She will state: ‘The British people are yearning for something better, and this Labour Government is not it. They have no ideas. At best, they are re-announcing things we have already done. At their worst, they are clueless, irresponsible, and dishonest: deceiving the British public about the state of the UK finances, placing political donors into civil service jobs, and cutting pensioner benefits to fund union pay rises without promising reform. Their model of spend, spend, spend is broken and they don’t know what to do.’
However, Badenoch will admit that Conservatives can’t ‘just sit around pointing out how terrible Labour are,’ adding: ‘We have to focus on renewal. The renewal of our party, our politics, and our thinking.’
In his London speech, Cleverly will state: ‘An unstable world, global migration, and a crisis of confidence in capitalism. We must get our act together as a party to provide the Conservative solutions to these problems. The solutions of the Left don’t and won’t work. That means being honest and realistic about the state’s role. About what it should and can do, and what it should not and cannot. The state should focus on doing fewer things very well, not everything badly.’
He will add: ‘We accomplished much in Government, but our division and behaviour obscured the victories and compounded the mistakes. I will tackle the problems in front of us with Conservative solutions and make the UK the greatest power in Europe. Strong in defence of our people, our allies, and our values on the international stage. With security and prosperity at home.’
Tory MPs will vote to narrow down the candidates to the final two by October 10, with party members deciding the winner in a poll. The winner will be announced on November 2, replacing Rishi Sunak.
What Other Media Are Saying
- The Guardian reports Kemi Badenoch launching her Conservative Party leadership campaign, urging the party to move beyond criticizing Labour and adopt a fresh vision.(read more)
- The Independent reports on Tory leadership hopefuls, including Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly, who are critical of Labour and emphasize renewal and policy changes.(read more)
- The Financial Times reports that Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly are launching their campaigns to become the next Conservative leader, marking a significant step in the party’s leadership succession.(read more)
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions asked about this news
What did Kemi Badenoch say about the Labour government?
She called them ‘clueless, irresponsible and dishonest’ and accused them of deceiving voters.
Who else is launching a campaign for Tory leadership?
James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel, Mel Stride, and Tom Tugendhat.
What policy change did James Cleverly propose?
He proposed abolishing stamp duty to help more people buy homes.
When will the Tory MPs vote to reduce the candidates?
They will vote on Wednesday to start reducing candidates.
When will the new Tory leader be announced?
The winner will be announced on November 2.
