Badenoch tells Birmingham conference the Tories will win again

Kemi Badenoch has told the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham that the party will win the next general election because it has become a "new" party, different from the one that suffered its worst ever defeat in 2024.

Speaking on the opening day of the conference at the International Convention Centre on Sunday, the Conservative leader set out a blueprint for the party's future and published a 95-page document called The Right Way.

Echoes of Thatcher

Mrs Badenoch drew a comparison with The Right Approach, the statement of Conservative principles published in 1976 when Margaret Thatcher was leader of the opposition. "We governed for 18 years after that, because we started with the right foundations," she said, "and we are going to do the same again."

She said she wanted the Conservatives to become a party that "knows what it stands for, a Conservative Party that knows what it believes and knows who its people are". Her ambition to renew the party, she said, went beyond changing individual policies.

A smaller state

The document argues that government should focus its spending on essential areas: defence, borders, public order, the rule of law and infrastructure. Mrs Badenoch pointed to the war in Ukraine, the conflict involving Iran, the global financial crisis and the Covid pandemic as examples of crises that governments must be ready for.

"There is always an emergency," she said, "but we don't have unlimited resources."

She said the job of government was to enable economic growth and give businesses the freedom to operate.

New policies

Among the policies announced were plans to build 50,000 new prison places, a pointed contrast with the Government's early release scheme, which began on Thursday.

The Conservatives also pledged to remove the income limit on 30 hours of free childcare a week. At the moment, parents lose all of their entitlement if either of them earns more than 100,000 pounds a year, a cliff edge that critics say discourages people from working more.

A difficult position

The Conservatives were reduced to 121 seats at the 2024 general election, their lowest total in history, and they have faced strong competition from Reform UK on the right. In the local elections in May, they lost ground to Reform UK and the Greens.

The conference is the first since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister, and the Conservatives are keen to show they can offer an alternative as the Government prepares for a difficult Budget.

The week ahead

The conference continues until Wednesday, with speeches from members of the shadow cabinet and hundreds of fringe events organised by think tanks, charities, businesses and campaign groups around the ICC.

Birmingham's role

Birmingham has hosted the Conservative conference regularly since 2008, alternating with Manchester. The event brings thousands of delegates, journalists and visitors to the city centre, with a security zone around the ICC on Broad Street and Centenary Square.

The Conservatives have 16 of the 101 seats on Birmingham City Council, which has been run since May by a minority administration of Liberal Democrats, Greens and independent councillors.

What critics say

Labour said the Conservatives had not learned the lessons of their time in government, while Reform UK said voters would not trust the party again. Pollsters say the Conservatives still face a long road back to power.