Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has taken aim at “failed” ex-Tory MPs, welcoming them to join Nigel Farage’s party in a dig at defectors who made the switch Reform UK.
Writing in the Telegraph, Ms Badenoch said: “While Nigel Farage spends the summer arguing with a man with a bin on his head and Andy Burnham works out what he actually wants to do as Prime Minister after his successful coup against Sir Keir Starmer, I will be showing I’ve got a plan to get Britain working again.”
The Conservative leader pointed to more than 2,000 applications to join the party, stepping up the selection process over the summer “as we build a government in waiting”.
She continued: “We lost badly in 2024. The public do not want us to repeat the mistakes of the past. They want us to change. So, I am changing the party – and quickly.
“Some people should never have been candidates before. Some do not have the judgment. Some do not have the discipline.
“Some do not want the Conservative Party to change. Some say one thing in public and another in private.”
Ms Badenoch said a party under her watch was not for “drama queens”, pledging to build a team to deliver radical change in the 2030s, “not a retirement home for failed politicians”.
On unsuitable members, she added: “If they want to jump on every passing fad that makes us look more like Liberal Democrats than Conservatives, there is no place for them in this party. We have to show we have changed for the better.
“Just look at Reform, whose candidate vetting standards would make Count Binface look like one of their most viable candidates.
“Reform cannot even be bothered to turn up to vote much of the time, and Labour MPs are desperately peacocking for Burnham. My current MPs are in training to make fantastic ministers in a future government I lead.
“We are building a party for the future and of the future, not recreating the past. No doubt some people will be disappointed.
“They will go to the papers and complain on their WhatsApp groups about being stitched-up. Some may brief journalists. Some will defect to Reform or the Liberal Democrats. So be it.”
Ms Badenoch earlier challenged Mr Farage’s stunt in Clacton by declaring the by-election “fake”, and confirming she will not be standing any candidates in the ballot.
Sitting down with GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope, Mrs Badenoch said: “He’s the one who called this fake election, and this is a fake by-election.
“I will be standing a candidate in the real by-election, which will come later after this investigation has concluded.
“And the reason why I think that there will be a by-election is because he’s doing this to stop people finding out what actually happened.”
She accused Mr Farage of “cracking under pressure” amid the scandal around his finances: “Many people were aware of this fishy £5million, but people were not aware of an investigation.
“I think Nigel Farage is facing intense pressure. He’s cracking under the pressure and this is a hissy fit that he’s thrown.”
“We have a free press in this country, even Prince Harry has to deal with the free press. We all have to deal with it.”
Mrs Badenoch suggested that Mr Farage should have “explained his £5million gift”, instead of resigning as an MP.
