Tory leadership live: Kemi Badenoch admits Conservatives ‘let standards slip’ but vows to rebuild party

Kemi Badenoch has called for the Tories to “be honest” about their mistakes in government after winning the Tory leadership vote – becoming the first Black leader of a Westminster party.

After beatint Robert Jenrick in the contest to succeed Rishi Sunak, the former business secretary said the Conservatives need to unite behind her after years of infighting.

And, in a frank assessment of the party’s post-Brexit record, Ms Badenoch said: “We have to be honest; honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we let standards slip.”

Political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:

• Party unity: Ms Badenoch becomes the Tory party’s fourth leader since the summer of 2022. Tory MPs have had public disagreements and squabbles in recent years over topics from immigration to integrity. Conservative peer and elections commentator, Lord Robert Hayward, said bringing the party back together is the next leader’s number one task.

• Immigration: The issue of immigration and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is one that could bring party unity back to centre stage and has been a much-discussed topic during the campaign. Adam Drummond, the head of political and social research at pollster Opinium, said of the new leader, “it’s hard to see them not talking about immigration a lot”. Ms Badenoch has said that focusing on the ECHR risks shutting “the conversation that we need to have with the entire country” on immigration, and has not gone as far as to say she would quit the agreement completely, writing in The Daily Telegraph in September that “if necessary” the UK should leave “international frameworks like the ECHR”.

• The economy: Focusing on the economy could provide a “viable” path back to power for the Conservatives, Mr Drummond suggested. Responding to Rachel Reeves’ first Budget on Wednesday, Ms Badenoch told LBC that “this is not a growth Budget”.

• Winning back votes lost at the general election: The Conservatives secured 121 seats at the general election in July, losing constituencies to Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK in different parts of the country. Labour won almost 300 more seats than the Tories with 33 per cent of the vote, compared to the Conservatives’ 23 per cent. As well as reuniting the party in Parliament, Lord Hayward said that under the new leader, the party has to “get a message across to the public at large” about their position as Labour’s main opposition.

Never frightened to ruffle feathers, new Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch’s willingness to say what others may regard as unsayable has made her the darling of the Tory grassroots.

Her forthright views on issues from gender identity to institutional racism have thrilled supporters on the right while outraging critics on the left in equal measure.

In the course of a turbulent ministerial career Ms Badenoch clashed with civil servants over her insistence public buildings should have separate men’s and women’s toilet facilities and faced accusations of bullying her own officials.

Read more here:

Ellie Reeves said she is “worried” about the policies that Kemi Badenoch would advocate as leader of the opposition.

The Labour Party chairwoman told broadcasters: “Kemi was part of the chaos of the last 14 years, serving in various roles.

“And when you think about her leadership campaign, she made some pretty negative comments about autistic children, she said that maternity pay was excessive and the national minimum wage was harmful.

“I’m quite worried about what that means.

“Is their policy going to be to get rid of maternity pay? Would they scrap the minimum wage?

“These are all the things that need to be answered.”

Robert Jenrick has congratulated Kemi Badenoch and called for the Conservative Party to “unite behind” her.

Following his defeat in the Tory leadership election, he posted on X: “Congratulations to Kemi Badenoch. Thank you to everyone who supported my vision for a Conservative Party rooted in the common ground of British politics.

“It’s now time for the Conservatives to unite behind Kemi and take the fight to this disastrous Labour government.”

Kemi Badenoch has won the race to become the new leader of the Conservative Party, beating Robert Jenrick in the ballot of party members on Saturday.

She will take over from Rishi Sunak after winning 53,806 votes, while her rival received 41,388 votes.

Here is her first speech as party leader in full, delivered immediately after the result:

Conservative MP Chris Philp said he is “delighted” that Kemi Badenoch has won the Conservative leadership race and “now the whole party will unite behind her”.

The former minister told the PA news agency that it is the party’s job to “take the fight to Labour” who have just “delivered a terrible Budget”.

He added: “We’re going to unite behind Kemi, we’re going to take the fight to Labour and develop a programme for government over the next few years that we can present to the British people at the next general election.”

On divisions among Conservatives in recent years, he said he thinks the party “recognises those challenges that we’ve had in the past and we’ve learned from that”.

He added: “Everybody in Parliament, the party more widely, no matter who they supported during this campaign will now get behind Kemi because it’s in the national interest that we hold this Labour Government to account for the terrible things they’re doing and present a credible alternative government at the next election.

“So I’m absolutely certain we’re going to have unity going forward.”

Newly elected Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has admitted the Conservatives “let standards slip” but vowed to rebuild the party.

She said: “This is not just about the Conservative Party, it is about the people we want to bring back to the Conservative Party, it is about the people we need to bring into the Conservative Party.

“It is about what the Conservative Party needs to be over the next five, 10 and 20 years.

“Our party is critical to the success of our country, but to be heard we have to be honest – honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we let standards slip.

“The time has come to tell the truth. The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for our future, to reset our politics and our thinking, and to give our party, and our country, the new start that they deserve.

“It is time to get down to business, it is time to renew.”

Nigel Farage has told The Independent that he is “not worried” about Kemi Badenoch as leader of the Conservative Party, reports political editor David Maddox.

The Reform UK leader has laid out plans to replace the Tories as the main party on the right of British politics.

He messaged to say that he now believes there is a clear dividing line between the Tories and Reform with the issue of leaving the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) with Robert Jenrick, who supported that policy, rejected.

“The Tories have voted to stay in the ECHR,” said Mr Farage.