Badenoch says Tories ‘talked right but governed left’ at party leadership launch
Kemi Badenoch has said the Conservative government’s mistake was that it “talked right but governed left” as she launched her Tory leadership campaign in Westminster.
The shadow communities secretary, the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Rishi Sunak, said that “a government that tries to do everything will likely end up achieving nothing”.
Addressing a packed room at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, she said: “This was one of our mistakes.
“We talked right but governed left, sounding like Conservatives but acting like Labour.
“Government should do fewer things, but what it does, it should do with brilliance.”
She said that Labour are only in Government because people no longer believed in the Conservatives.
“The British people are yearning for something better, and this Labour Government is not it,” she said.
She said Labour are “trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the public” about the state of the UK’s finances.
“They are already making worse mistakes than we did,” she said.
Principles
She outlined a list of her principles including personal responsibility, citizenship, equality under the law, the family, and truth.
MPs returned to Westminster on Monday after the summer break, with the candidates seeking support ahead of the first round of voting in the Tory leadership race on Wednesday.
The build-up to the ballot has already seen major speeches by candidates Tom Tugendhat, Dame Priti Patel and Robert Jenrick in recent days.
Ms Badenoch also touted her education as an engineer, nodding to the choice of the Institution of Engineering and Technology as her launch venue.
She told the audience that politicians make promises “they cannot keep”.
“Things can be good, they can be fast, they can be cheap, they cannot be all three,” she said.
“Many politicians simply do not understand that.
“Politicians pretend that we can have everything. They make promises we cannot keep.”
She contrasted politicians with engineers, who “accept reality”.
“Engineers are honest, engineers get stuff done,” she said. “I am an engineer.”
Culture wars
Ms Badenoch also hit back at criticisms that she was more concerned with culture wars than with the bread and butter of opposition.
“I got on the dispatch box against Angela Rayner, that video has gone viral,” she said.
“That’s me in opposition. That is how I will be taking the fight to Keir Starmer.
“But people who say that all I did was culture wars were not paying attention. I was doing my job.
“I was the equalities minister, I had to look after very, very tricky issues like race and gender – things that everybody ran away from.
“I didn’t run away. And not only did I not run away, I defended people who needed help, and I dragged Labour onto our turf.”
Leadership rival James Cleverly will also make a campaign speech on Monday.
‘Realistic’
Mr Cleverly will say the Tories “must get our act together” to present solutions to “an unstable world, global migration and a crisis of confidence in capitalism”.
He will say: “That means being honest and realistic about the role of the state. 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.
“We accept that the state has a primary duty to protect its people and its borders. But Conservatives must be honest about the trade-offs in doing these things properly.”
He will argue for a “family-first society” rather than looking to the state as the first port of call when a problem arises.
“We must think and act like Conservatives again. Demonstrate that we understand the challenges our people and our country face, and provide the solutions to deliver a brighter future for our country.
“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.”
The field of six candidates – which also includes Mel Stride – will be whittled down to four by the time of the Conservative conference at the end of the month.
After that, MPs will carry out further rounds of voting to select two final candidates for the Conservative members to choose between, with the result announced on November 2.
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“We talked right but governed left”
Yup, just punch left. It’s always those damn lefties’ fault. Even when neolib politicians have controlled every lever of power since the late 70s, it’s still those lefties wot did it.
It’s important that there’s a left and a right in our democratic system, otherwise there’s nothing to keep the other side in check. Unchecked, they can easily end up going too far, and European history over the last 100 years presents examples of what happens when the right, or the left, goes too far: it’s equally catastrophic. Those who voted conservative in the 2019 general election expected what they were promised: for example, reduced immigration (legal & illegal), gender ideology put back in its box, the same with all the woke stuff, strong and equitable policing, financial prudence, and the… Read more »
What utter tosh. Most of what you claim above is complete rubbish. Please explain where in European history where things have gone too far to the left in the past 100 years? The Tories made promises, but hey, you know what? They lied! Tories always do that. As for immigration and the culture wars stuff, that was just a smoke screen to hide just how bad they were doing. On top of a near half century of operating a financial ideology that has turned out to be bereft of any rhyme or reason the past fourteen years have been characterised… Read more »
Question for Ms Badenoch: If ‘governing left’ means the legacy of the Tory reign now being perpetuated by the Labour Government, would ‘governing right’ mean more hungry children or less?
Please give us a clue.
All these appearances in the media and interviews of the half dozen Tory hopefuls should carry a disclaimer – only relevant to Tory MPs and members of the Tory Party.
The leadership contest is ultimately decided by a group who voted Liz Truss as their leader and would have then voted Boris Johnson back if they’d have been given the chance!.
Are people aware that Ms Bad enoch is of the belief that the British Empire and the slave trade had nothing to do with GB’s prosperity, and she has some fairly odd thoughts about black people in the UK that would align her firmly in the racist far right of inglish politics.
That’s the utter absurdity of the situation the Tories find themselves in when trying to appease an increasingly unhinged racist and xenophobic right wing whose stock in trade is the fantasy of a return to a country that never was: a Great Britain that is god fearing, royalist, imperialist and white.
Sadly the same rot can be detected in the current manifestation of the Labour party, which has seen fit to consciously wrap itself in the Union Flag, often also known as the Butcher’s Apron.
She sounds like a fascist to me!