Key facts
- Kemi Badenoch vowed a "fight coming in British politics" at the Conservative Party conference.
- She attacked Prime Minister Andy Burnham's Labour Party and Nigel Farage's Reform UK.
- Badenoch announced a pledge to abolish inheritance tax on a person's main home.
- The Conservative Party is polling at 18% in a general election, behind Reform UK (22%) and Labour (26%).
- Badenoch stated, "I am black. I am British. I am proud of my country."
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK's Conservative Party, used her speech at the party's annual conference in Birmingham to signal a forthcoming political battle, directly challenging both the governing Labour Party and the right-wing Reform UK. Badenoch, the first Black leader of a major UK political party, stated, "We must not let these people take us backwards. That is not the country we are … I am black. I am British. I am proud of my country." She explicitly rejected calls to "unite the right," stating, "We are not uniting with that."
Her flagship policy announcement was the abolition of inheritance tax on a person's main home, a move intended to appeal to wealthier voters and align with her argument for pursuing growth. This policy, along with subsidized childcare for workers earning over £100,000, is seen as an attempt to attract "shire Tories" in southern England, a demographic that has previously shifted to the Liberal Democrats. This strategy contrasts with the appeal to industrial heartland voters who have gravitated towards Reform UK.
POLITICO's Poll of Polls places the Conservative Party at 18% for the next general election, trailing Reform UK at 22% and Labour at 26%. Badenoch's speech focused on positioning the party within a multi-party system rather than detailing extensive policy, aiming to consolidate support for a potential victory at the next general election, due by 2029.