Story summary
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, is positioning herself as a key figure at the party's annual conference in Birmingham, held from September 24-27, 2026. After suffering their worst-ever electoral defeat in 2024, the Conservatives are aiming to rebuild under Badenoch’s leadership, which has seen her develop a clearer public image and improve her standing among voters despite the party's overall poor performance in polls.
Badenoch emphasizes that she wants to present the Conservative Party as fundamentally different from its past incarnation, describing it as a "new" Conservative outfit. She introduced a 95-page document titled “The Right Way,” which outlines principles for future governance and draws parallels with Baroness Thatcher's approach in the late 1970s that led to an 18-year tenure of conservative rule.
To counter opposition from Labour and Reform UK, Badenoch asserts her party will focus on welfare reform, prison expansion, and targeted social policies like free childcare for higher-earning parents. She portrays herself as a "classic old-school Conservative" who believes in “common sense” rather than being labeled the “nasty party,” stressing that personal responsibility remains a core value.
Badenoch's improved public perception contrasts with her initial criticism from some within the party when she first took office, but her firm stance and strategic planning aim to secure the Conservative Party's future electoral success. She plans for the next election, stating confidently, "When we win the next election, and we will," showcasing a renewed sense of determination and direction under her leadership.
Written for “Kemi Badenoch Conservative Party Spee…” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 12 other(s) covering the same event.
Kemi Badenoch has pitched the Tories as the party of “common sense” as she began Conservative conference with a raft of policy pledges on tightening welfare, prison expansion, and free childcare for higher-earning parents.
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she → pitch → parents
The Tory leader cast herself as the “no-nonsense mum” to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s “cheesy uncle” as she insisted the Conservatives had changed after suffering their worst-ever electoral defeat in 2024.
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Conservatives → cast → 2024
Dismissing suggestions that her focus on cutting benefits and building more prisons signalled a return of the Conservatives as the so-called “nasty party”, she said: “It’s the common sense party.
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It → dismiss → party
That’s what we’re doing.
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we → ’ → what
“And, quite frankly, if we were doing so well the old way, then why did we have such a terrible issue in 2024?”
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we → do → 2024
She told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “I am a classic old-school conservative.
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I → tell → programme
I believe in common sense: people working hard and being rewarded for that effort.”
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people → believe → effort
Despite wanting to draw a clear line under mistakes of the past, Mrs Badenoch said some principles were “timeless” and should continue to guide the party.
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principles → want → party
“The principles and the values never change,” she said.
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she → change → ?
Asked how she would characterise herself and Labour leader Mr Burnham after she described Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as a “grumpy grandpa”, she said: “Andy Burnham is the cheesy uncle.
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Burnham → ask → grandpa
I think he’s the cheesy uncle who does all the dad jokes.
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who → think → jokes
Someone else has to do that.
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Someone → have → that
It’s very difficult…
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It → ’ → ?
They probably see me, you know, as the no-nonsense mum.
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you → see → mum
No nonsense, (that’s) probably me.”
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that → ’ → ?
The Conservatives have made a series of policy announcements in the days approaching the annual party conference in Birmingham, as they seek to broaden their platform for government ahead of the next general election.
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they → make → election
The party has pledged to end a childcare “cliff edge”, which currently means parents earning more than £100,000 do not qualify for the entitlement.
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parents → pledge → entitlement
All parents working 16 or more hours a week would be eligible to get 30 hours of free care a week under the Tories’ proposals.
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parents → work → proposals
The policy is estimated to cost £700 million a year, which party officials say could be funded by cutting the number of public servants at arms-length bodies.
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officials → estimate → bodies
Mrs Badenoch indicated people earning as much as £1 million a year would still be eligible for the entitlement but insisted the pledge was targeted at earners around the £100,000 threshold.
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pledge → indicate → threshold
Asked whether the policy should be tapered or means-tested in some way to avoid taxpayers subsidising incredibly wealthy parents, she told the BBC: “I believe that the number of people who have very small children who are earning tens of millions of pounds is negligible.
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who → ask → pounds
“What I think we need to focus on is the reality of most people out at work today, and what you’re going to see at this conference is how we’re having policies for everybody.
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we → think → everybody
“Whether you don’t earn, whether you earn a little, whether you earn a bit, whether you earn a lot, we want everyone in this country to know that if you are out there working, the Conservative Party has got a plan for you that we’re going to get fit and working again.”
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we → earn → you
Elsewhere, the Conservatives also announced a plan to tighten access to student loans for non-UK nationals – a policy they say would save the taxpayer £900 million a year.
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they → announce → million
The proposals would also block EU Settled Status (EUSS) claims, a system the Tories said is being “abused”.
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Tories → block → claims
The Tories have also pledged to deliver 50,000 new prison places by slashing the overseas aid budget to £1 billion a year in a bid to end the early release of offenders.
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Tories → pledge → offenders
Over the 14 years the Conservatives were in power, around 500 net prison places were created, which takes into account 14,142 added in existing and new jails, as well as 13,660 lost mainly to dilapidation and closures.
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which → create → dilapidation
The early release of offenders that began under the Tories to ease jail overcrowding has been continued by the Labour Government, which Mrs Badenoch accused of letting out “dangerous” criminals and “papering over the cracks” in the system.
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Badenoch → begin → system
The party leader also hinted she was open to cutting inheritance tax but only if it were fiscally responsible, describing the move as “morally right” in an interview with the Sunday Times.
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it → hint → Times
Amid questions over the Conservatives’ long-term commitment to the triple lock policy after senior party figures including former chancellor Jeremy Hunt, shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat and shadow housing secretary Katie Lam suggested it was unsustainable, Mrs Badenoch insisted the Tories were “keeping” the policy.
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Tories → include → policy
Asked about Ms Lam’s comments, the Tory leader said: “She is not wrong about growth, we are not growing.
“
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we → ask → growth
But why is she saying that?
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she → say → that
Because we’re not growing.
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we → grow → ?
We keep avoiding the fundamental question about growing the economy.”
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We → avoid → economy
In a 95-page guide to her political philosophy published on Sunday, Mrs Badenoch said Government should be strong in the areas in which “the state is required”, which she named as “defence, borders, public order, the rule of law and essential infrastructure”.
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state → publish → law
“It should not spread itself thinly across responsibilities that others can carry, where adults, families, communities and businesses should be free to make decisions they can reasonably make for themselves,” she says.
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she → spread → themselves
The booklet, titled The Right Way and inspired in part by a similar document setting out the tenets of Thatcherism in the 1970s, says there were failures in the approach of previous Conservative governments to net zero, immigration and how Brexit was delivered.
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Brexit → title → zero
“(The Right Way’s) first purpose is to reset and reclaim the intellectual foundations of the Conservative Party,” Mrs Badenoch says.
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Badenoch → reset → Party
“Faced with almost any problem, the easy answer is to demand government do something.
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government → face → something
I want to see proper questions asked first.”
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questions → want → ?
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
