Kemi Badenoch has pledged to “earn the trust of the British people”, saying she will release policies as “it’s thought through”.
The Conservative leader denied leaving a policy vacuum that could be exploited by Reform UK, the political party led by Nigel Farage.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Badenoch dismissed the policies put forward by Reform as “easy answers”.
She said: “Reform is saying stuff because it hasn’t thought it all through. You can give easy answers if you haven’t thought it all through.
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“I do the thinking and what people are going to get with new leadership under me is thoughtful Conservatism, not knee-jerk analysis.”
She added: “We are about what we are for, not just what we are against.”
In response, Nigel Farage argued Badenoch “doesn’t understand that the level of betrayal means that the Tory brand is broken.
“She personally bears heavy responsibility for this”.
The Conservative leader, who was elected to the post in November, insisted she is not a “dictator” and warned there is no quick fix for the Conservatives after their July election defeat.
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Badenoch also acknowledged that the local elections scheduled for May next year would be difficult for her party.
She said: “The Conservative Party is under changed leadership and I think that the voters will start to see that, but it’s going to be slow and steady. It’s the tortoise strategy, not the hare.”
Asked whether she is concerned about the prospect of US billionaire Elon Musk donating to Reform, Badenoch downplayed the possibility but said she “believes in competition”.
She said: “So I think that if Elon Musk is giving a party, a competitor party money, then that is a challenge for me to make sure that I raise the same.”
She also suggested such a development might be “counterproductive” for Reform, claiming people in the UK “don’t necessarily like to see politics being bought”.
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
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