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Tories will win the next election with new political bible, Badenoch claims

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Lynch, D. (2026, October 4). Tories will win the next election with new political bible, Badenoch claims. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/kemi-badenoch-tories-prime-minister-margaret-thatcher-andy-burnham-b1299478.html

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Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-04 · by David Lynch

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Story summary

Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party, delivered a confident speech at the party's annual conference in Birmingham on October 4th, aiming to reshape her party’s image after their historic defeat in the 2024 general election. Her stance is that she represents a "common sense" and "no-nonsense" approach, positioning herself as the antithesis of Labour’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Reform UK's leader Nigel Farage, whom she has characterized respectively as a "cheesy uncle" and a "grumpy grandpa." Despite trailing in polls behind both Labour and Reform UK, Badenoch argues that her party is now distinct from the one defeated in 2024, highlighting plans to tighten welfare policies and expand prison capacity. Her personal poll ratings are higher than those of the Conservative Party itself, indicating a growing public recognition and support for her leadership style. The conference also marked a return to larger venues, signaling an attempt by the Conservatives to regain their footing on the national stage after facing significant challenges in recent years.

Written for “Kemi Badenoch Leads Tory Conference” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 51 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Kemi Badenoch Leads Tory Conference
Politics · 52 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly right and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans right further left than this Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans right further left than this Hedges 3 of 47 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 31 claims Outlet record 65/100
BBC News
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 0 of 23 claims Outlet record 68/100
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 3 of 47 claims Outlet record 65/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 38 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans right further left than this Hedges 2 of 38 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events - one is about Kemi Badenoch's speech at the Conservative party conference, while the other focuses on Robert Jenrick's reaction to that speech and his subsequent departure from the party.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans right further left than this Hedges 5 of 40 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Conservative party's conference and its leadership claims; they do not describe the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
65/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
52
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
2
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-04 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 7865 article(s) · 64 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 64 correction(s)

Who wrote this

David Lynch
59 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Asked by ITV if he would describe the Budget as radical, Mr Burnham suggested he did not.
🔮 Asked by ITV if he would describe the Budget as radical, Mr Burnham suggested he did not.
🔮 John Healey was repeatedly pressed about the cost of welfare by broadcasters, after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned sickness and disability benefits could cost £100 billion a year before the end of the decade.
🔮 He told a post-Budget press conference that he wanted to “avoid conflict” in the chamber, after claiming he had been involved in an altercation with another MP at the state opening of Parliament on May 13.
🔮 John Healey was repeatedly pressed about the cost of welfare by broadcasters, after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned sickness and disability benefits could cost £100 billion a year before the end of the decade.
🔮 He told a post-Budget press conference that he wanted to “avoid conflict” in the chamber, after claiming he had been involved in an altercation with another MP at the state opening of Parliament on May 13.
🔮 John Healey will deliver his first Budget as Chancellor on October 28 against the backdrop of a difficult domestic economic situation, made worse due to international market turmoil caused by the Iran war.
🔮 Despite the apparent willingness to negotiate, Russia has continued to launch missile strikes at Kyiv.
🔮 Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesman, announced the party would also launch a legal challenge against the multiple ITV journalists and the broadcaster’s board of directors it reported to the police.
🔮 Reform says it has reported ITV to the police over undercover investigation Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesman, announced the party would also launch a legal challenge against the multiple ITV journalists and the broadcaster’s board of directors it reported to the police.
Also by David Lynch
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 59 articles by David Lynch →

Topics

Birmingham Conservative MI6 Tory the Conservative Parliamentary Party

Subjects

Badenoch PERSON · 7× Conservative NORP · 3× Tory NORP · 3× Birmingham GPE · 2× Alex Younger PERSON · 1× Brexit ORG · 1× Burnham PERSON · 1× MI6 ORG · 1× Thatcher PERSON · 1× the Conservative Parliamentary Party ORG · 1×

Narrative

A major line of thought throughout Mrs Badenoch’s new political bible appears to be that government should not spread its resources too thinly, but should be strong in the areas in which “the state is required”: defence, borders, public order, the rule of law and essential infrastructure. “There is always an emergency.
framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-04
🔮 Mrs Badenoch’s 95-page document, called “The Right Way”, similarly lays out her own basis for how a future Conservative government would act should it seize power.
2026-10-04 · Evening Standard
Tories will win the next election with new political bible, Badenoch claims · assertive framing
2026-10-04 · Evening Standard
Tories will win the next election with new political bible, Badenoch claims · assertive framing

Claims (18 extracted, 1 hedged)

Mrs Badenoch cast her party as a “new” Conservative outfit to that which lost the last election, as she opened its annual gathering in Birmingham. asserted
she → cast → Birmingham
Mrs Badenoch’s 95-page document, called “The Right Way”, similarly lays out her own basis for how a future Conservative government would act should it seize power. asserted
it → call → power
Speaking at the opening of the party conference in Birmingham, Mrs Badenoch said: “When we win the next election, and we will, we are going to need to hit the ground running. asserted
we → speak → ground
“We will need to be ready from day one, having already shown people what kind of government we are going to be, and that is why today I have published The Right Way.” asserted
I → need → Way
Referring to ex-prime minister Baroness Thatcher’s The Right Approach, a document published in 1976, Mrs Badenoch said: “We governed for 18 years after that, because we started with the right foundations, and we are going to do the same again.” asserted
we → refer → same
Mrs Badenoch said the late Sir Alex Younger, a former head of MI6, had spoken to the Conservative Parliamentary Party in February, and advised them to set out tenets for governing to avoid entering power in future without an agenda. asserted
Younger → say → agenda
A major line of thought throughout Mrs Badenoch’s new political bible appears to be that government should not spread its resources too thinly, but should be strong in the areas in which “the state is required”: defence, borders, public order, the rule of law and essential infrastructure. “There is always an emergency. asserted
state → appear → law
There is always a good reason to spend government money or time on something, but we don’t have unlimited resources. asserted
we → be → resources
Government is about making tough choices, deciding how you will spread your resources, what you are going to focus your time on,” Mrs Badenoch told the conference. asserted
Badenoch → make → conference
The “fundamental analysis” at the heart of the document is that government needs to create the conditions for economic growth, and then get out of the way to allow businesses “the freedom to grow our economy”, the Tory leader added. asserted
leader → need → economy
The document also acknowledges failures in the approach of previous Conservative governments to net zero, immigration and how Brexit was delivered. asserted
Brexit → acknowledge → zero
The Tory leader sought to offer a foil to the Prime Minister, who has described his offer to the electorate as underpinned by a “clear theory” of economic growth. asserted
who → seek → growth
She disagreed, and suggested Mr Burnham’s promises will “all come to nought”. uncertain
promises → disagree → nought
The Tory leader added: “Keir Starmer didn’t have a plan. asserted
Starmer → add → plan
That’s why he’s gone. asserted
he → ’ → ?
“Andy Burnham doesn’t have one either and that is why I know the announcements he is making will all come to nought. asserted
he → have → nought
“We have to be different, different from Labour, and different from the party we were two years ago.” asserted
we → have → party
Heading into the conference, the Tories have announced plans to build 50,000 new prison places, and axe the upper limit for 30 days’ free childcare a week, so wealthy parents can access the offer. asserted
parents → head → offer
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