Riyadh Daily
Kemi Badenoch has positioned the Tories as the party of "common sense" as she opens the Conservative conference with policy pledges spanning welfare cuts, prison expansion, and free childcare for higher-earning parents. The Tory leader styled herself as the "no-nonsense mum" in contrast to Prime Minister Andy Burnham ’s "cheesy uncle", maintaining that the Opposition has transformed following its record election defeat in 2024. Rejecting claims that cutting benefits and building prisons signalled a return to being the "nasty party" , she stated: "It’s the common sense party.
That’s what we’re doing. "And, quite frankly, if we were doing so well the old way, then why did we have such a terrible issue in 2024?" Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, she said: "I am a classic old-school conservative. I believe in common sense: people working hard and being rewarded for that effort." While seeking to move past previous errors, Mrs Badenoch stressed that core beliefs remain constant.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, with her husband Hamish, arrives at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham (Stefan Rousseau/PA) "The principles and the values never change," she noted, adding: "Personal responsibility is not a 1980s idea." Asked to describe herself and Labour leader Mr Burnham after previously labelling Reform UK leader Nigel Farage a "grumpy grandpa", she said: "Andy Burnham is the cheesy uncle. I think he’s the cheesy uncle who does all the dad jokes. "And what am I?
Someone else has to do that. It’s very difficult... They probably see me, you know, as the no-nonsense mum.
No nonsense, (that’s) probably me." The announcements precede the annual party conference in Birmingham, as the Conservatives attempt to construct a broader platform ahead of the next general election. Proposals include removing the childcare "cliff edge" that currently excludes parents earning above £100,000 from state support. Under the Tory plan, all parents working 16 hours or more weekly would receive 30 hours of free care.
Estimated at £700 million annually, officials say the measure would be funded by reducing civil service numbers at arms-length bodies. Mrs Badenoch conceded individuals earning up to £1 million would remain eligible, but insisted the measure targets those around the £100,000 threshold. Conservative Party Conference began on Sunday (Getty) When asked if the subsidy should be tapered to avoid funding wealthy parents, she told the BBC: "I believe that the number of people who have very small children who are earning tens of millions of pounds is negligible.
"What I think we need to focus on is the reality of most people out at work today, and what you’re going to see at this conference is how we’re having policies for everybody. "Whether you don’t earn, whether you earn a little, whether you earn a bit, whether you earn a lot, we want everyone in this country to know that if you are out there working, the Conservative Party has got a plan for you that we’re going to get fit and working again." Additional proposals include restricting student loan access for non-UK nationals—a move projected to save £900 million annually—and blocking EU Settled Status (EUSS) claims, which the party argues are being abused. The Conservatives also promised 50,000 new prison places by cutting foreign aid to £1 billion a year, aiming to stop early releases.
Over 14 years in power, the Conservatives delivered a net gain of roughly 500 prison places, taking into account 14,142 added spaces against 13,660 lost mainly to dilapidation. Mrs Badenoch accused the Labour Government of continuing early releases initiated under the Tories, charging them with releasing "dangerous" offenders and "papering over the cracks". She also hinted at cutting inheritance tax if fiscally responsible, calling it "morally right" in a Sunday Times interview.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and shadow education secretary Laura Trott during a visit to the Wendy House Day Nursery in Birmingham (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Despite uncertainty over the triple lock following doubts raised by senior figures including former chancellor Jeremy Hunt, shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat, and shadow housing secretary Katie Lam, Mrs Badenoch insisted the party is "keeping" it. Addressing Ms Lam’s remarks, she said: "She is not wrong about growth, we are not growing. "But why is she saying that?
Because we’re not growing. We keep avoiding the fundamental question about growing the economy." Mrs Badenoch arrived in Birmingham on Saturday afternoon for her second conference as leader, seeking momentum after recent local election losses. Despite trailing Labour in polls, she told reporters: "I think that people will see that we have gone on a journey.
We’re not the party that the public said no to in 2024. We are a new Conservative Party. "I’ve got a strong team.
So much of my shadow cabinet are here, and they are going to be showing all the wonderful plans we have to get this country working again."
Source: The Independent
