Kemi Badenoch has been roundly mocked after claiming that failure to renew the Tory Party will lead to the loss of “our country and all of Western civilisation”.
The under-fire Conservative leader was branded “sad” and accused of “fawning” over Donald Trump after the speech in central London. In a lengthy rant Ms Badenoch said: “If we get this right, we stand at the dawn of the new Conservative century with so much opportunity and possibility.
“If we throw this opportunity away because of anger or self-doubt or weakness, our country and all of Western civilisation will be lost, and that is why we, the next generation of Conservatives, must lead the world back from the precipice. It is time to speak the truth.”
In between lashing out at the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), she told an audience at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) that the Tories are “starting the largest renewal of policy and ideas in a generation”.
She has previously vowed not to rush out policy in haste. Responding to polling that suggests a majority of young people think the UK is racist, she said “we shouldn’t be surprised” as young people “see a Parliament obsessed with trivia, presiding over stagnation despite making more and more laws”.
The Tory leader said: “I believe that loopholes in liberalism have been found and easily exploited. We have been hacked. The rule of law is what builds so much of the West.”
The comments were seized upon by political opponents. A Labour spokesperson said: “The Tories have no ideas and no remorse for the damage they inflicted on public services and the pockets of working people. They haven’t listened and they haven’t learned.
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“While Kemi Badenoch indulges in talking shop politics, this Labour Government is fixing the Tories’ mess. Our Plan for Change has already delivered two million more appointments in the NHS and is kickstarting growth across Britain to make people better off.”
Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Kemi Badenoch is competing with Nigel Farage to fawn over Donald Trump. Instead of standing up for Ukraine and Europe’s security, Kemi Badenoch has decided that she would rather parrot Trump’s dangerous rhetoric. To borrow a phrase from her political hero: sad.”
In a tirade about the European Convention on Human Rights, Ms Badenoch said: “We were members of this convention for half a century without this madness. What has changed is not the values, it’s the people. They are afraid of creating any kind of conflict.”
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