'Why on earth' would we merge with Reform? says Kemi Badenoch in first major speech of 2025

16 January 2025, 14:58

Kemi Badenoch has dismissed the idea the Conservative Party could merge with Reform UK ahead of the next election in her first major speech of 2025.

The Tory leader used her first major speech of the year to hit out at the Government and rival party Reform UK as she promised the Conservatives would tell the British public “the truth.”

It comes after former Conservative Home Secretary Suella Braverman told LBC she would be open to a coalition between the Conservatives and Reform UK in order to take down Labour at the next general election.

Hitting out at this idea, Ms Badenoch said: "Nigel Farage says he wants to destroy the Conservative Party. Why on earth would we merge with that?.”

Kemi Badenoch joins Iain Dale on LBC from 7pm - Watch live on Global Player

The Conservatives have seen Reform UK soar above them in the polls under Ms Badenoch’s leadership, but the Tory leader insisted she is doing a “serious job” in opposition.

Ms Badenoch said her party would "have to show how conservatism improves the lives of British people" in order to regain the trust of voters.

The Tory leader added: "We will rediscover the idea that everyone contributes towards society, not just calculate what they can take out of it. We will again be the party of meritocracy.

"We believe that if you do right by your community, your family, your society, you will succeed, and if you don't, you likely won't."

“From now on, we are going to tell the British people the truth, even when it is difficult to hear,” she said.

"The truth about the mistakes we made, the truth about the problems we face, and the truth about the actions we must take to get our country out of this mess."

Kemi Badenoch is giving a 'Faragist' excuse for Brexit, says James O'Brien

The Tory leader also placed Labour, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer in her sights, accusing the party of having a “woman problem” amid growing pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Asked what the relevance of Ms Reeves's gender was, she said: "Well, when she stood up in her budget, she wanted everyone to know that she was the first female chancellor.

"I didn't stand up here congratulating myself for being a female leader, or being a black leader.

"And that's why when you open the door to those things, it means that people can comment on them."

She accused Starmer of being “everything wrong with modern politics” and said the “country had lost its way” under Labour’s leadership.

She said the Government is “strangling the spirit of enterprise” as she hit out Labour’s handling of the economy.

Suella Braverman on the possibility of partnering with Reform UK

She did admit, however, that previous Tory governments made mistakes on Brexit and immigration.

The Conservative leader told the audience at the central London speech: "I will acknowledge the Conservative Party made mistakes and I understand why the British people made it so clear in July that we needed to change.

"We were making announcements without proper plans. We announced that we would leave the European Union before we had a plan for growth outside the EU."

She added: "We announced year after year that we would lower immigration, but despite our efforts immigration kept going up.

"Those mistakes were made because we told people what they wanted to hear first and then tried to work it out later. That is going to stop under my leadership."

The tone of Ms Badenoch’s speech was decidedly combative, something picked up on by journalists in attendance.

Asked why her speech was depressing, she told journalists: "I'm speaking based on where the Conservative Party is. We have just suffered our greatest ever defeat.

"I don't think the public will start trusting us if I turn up looking like I'm having a great time and everything's fantastic."

Addressing Reform's lead over the Tories in the polls, she added: "Nigel Farage has been knocking around for 20 plus years. He's been leading all sorts of different parties, so he has had a head start.

"I've been leading the Conservative Party for 10 weeks. Let's see where we are in a few months and years."