Failure to renew Conservative Party could doom the West, Badenoch claims
The Tory leader, who said she was speaking up for ‘classic liberal values’, also criticised ‘loopholes’ in liberalism which have been ‘hacked’.
Failure to renew the Conservative Party could lead to the loss of “our country and all of Western civilisation”, Kemi Badenoch has claimed.
The Conservative leader, who said she was speaking up for “classic liberal values”, also criticised “loopholes” in liberalism which have been “hacked” in recent decades, including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Speaking at a centre-right political conference, the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) in east London, the Tory leader said: “For those of us who seek leadership, we must do better, and that is why in the United Kingdom my party is starting the largest renewal of policy and ideas in a generation.”
The Conservative leader has previously insisted she will not set out a new policy platform in haste.
She has said the previous Tory government’s willingness to announce policies without following through was among the reasons voters abandoned it at the last election.
Ms Badenoch described the ARC conference as “part of finding those answers” and said it fills her “with hope”.
She added: “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.”
Ms Badenoch had earlier warned Western civilisation itself is “in crisis”.
She added: “Our ideas and our culture have dominated the world for well over two centuries. This is not a crisis of values.
“It’s a crisis of confidence that has set in at exactly the same time that we face existential threats.”
As Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer meets European leaders in Paris to respond to US President Donald Trump’s push for a Ukraine peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ms Badenoch suggested not spending more on defence is a “weakness”.
European leaders fear the US will reduce its defence commitments to the continent, after Mr Trump has complained Nato allies do not spend enough on their own armed forces.
Elsewhere in her speech, Ms Badenoch said Katharine Birbalsingh, sometimes branded Britain’s strictest headteacher, provides an example of “how you defend Western civilisation”.
The teacher faced criticism for refusing to provide a prayer space at the Michaela School and banning prayer rituals in order to maintain the school’s secular values.
Ms Badenoch contrasted this with Sir Keir, whom she branded weak for taking the knee during the Black Lives Matter protests.
She also warned about the impact of polling which suggests a majority of younger Britons think their country is racist, that they are not prepared to fight for it under any circumstances, and that they would prefer to see a strong leader such as a dictator take charge.
Ms Badenoch told the conference audience “we shouldn’t be surprised” because young people “see a Parliament obsessed with trivia, presiding over stagnation despite making more and more laws”.
Conservatives have “limited time” to convince the electorate to back them in future, Ms Badenoch said, as she pointed to problems with institutions such as the ECHR, a Europe-wide human rights treaty which has been used to prevent attempts to deport unauthorised migrants.
She told the conference: “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.”
She added: “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.
“They use the most novel and expansive interpretations of human rights law to avoid it, and we see that lack of confidence now in everything from law and order to national defence, a fear of sticking up for young girls being abused by rape gangs over so many decades so as not to upset community relations.”
Ms Badenoch likened herself to Mr Trump as she sought to explain what the Tories would do if they were to win power again.
She said: “People ask me what difference new leadership will make. Well, take a look at President Trump – he showed that sometimes you need that first stint in government to spot the problems, but it’s the second time around when you really know how to fix them.”
ARC is an international centre-right political organisation founded by Canadian psychologist and political commentator Jordan Peterson, who spoke on the conference main stage after Ms Badenoch.
Responding to Ms Badenoch’s speech, a Labour spokesman said the Tories “haven’t listened and they haven’t learned” since the general election.
They added: “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 kick-starting growth across Britain to make people better off.”
The Liberal Democrats meanwhile said the Conservative leader is “competing with Nigel Farage to fawn over Donald Trump”.
