Kemi Badenoch rallied her troops for battle on Wednesday as she declared the Conservative Party 'back in fashion' and ready to fight for the 'soul of the nation'.
asserted
Party → rally → nation
In a passionate and at times emotional speech, the Tory leader tore into her rivals and savaged their records.
asserted
leader → tear → records
Her rousing address to the party faithful in Birmingham, clocking in at one hour six minutes – a minute longer than Andy Burnham's speech last week – prompted at least a dozen standing ovations.
asserted
address → clock → ovations
Mrs Badenoch's main themes were:
Defiance for the future and Tory turncoats
The Conservative leader warned there was a 'fight coming' that would be a 'battle for the soul of the nation' at the next election.
asserted
that → warn → election
In a show of defiance, the Tory leader said she would not be 'written off' and would build a 'renewed' party that would win.
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that → say → party
Invoking the transformation of high street chain M&S, she told delegates her party was 'back in fashion'.
asserted
party → invoke → fashion
'And to think, people were writing us off,' she said, pointing out that Sir Keir Starmer had last year been planning for a decade in power, yet was no longer even an MP.
'
asserted
Starmer → think → power
Let me tell you, I am not someone who gets written off and neither is the Conservative Party.
asserted
who → let → you
Conference, there is a reason our party is still here after 200 years,' the Tory leader bellowed.
asserted
leader → be → years
Kemi Badenoch rallied her troops for battle on Wednesday as she declared the Conservative Party 'back in fashion' and ready to fight for the 'soul of the nation'
asserted
Party → rally → nation
Reflecting on past election defeats, she said the Conservatives had 'acknowledged' their mistakes.
asserted
Conservatives → reflect → mistakes
Using her M&S analogy, she admitted that voters were 'looking through the shop window' at the Tories, but they were not yet buying.
asserted
they → use → Tories
Marks & Spencer, she said, had gone from 'stuffy and stuck in the past' to 'back in fashion' – a point made after she was in the front row at the first ever M&S London Fashion Week show last month.
asserted
she → say → show
Continuing a theme running through the conference, Mrs Badenoch reserved harsh words for Tories who defected to Reform UK, including Robert Jenrick, who she ejected from the party for disloyalty.
asserted
she → continue → disloyalty
'In 2024, voters gave their verdict on the rows, the plots, and the infighting.
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voters → give → rows
That's gone,' she said.
asserted
she → go → ?
'The Conservatives have had an export boom – of drama queens going to Reform.
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queens → have → Reform
She said the Tories needed to win back the voters lost to Reform, adding: 'Many of them are our people.
asserted
Many → say → them
We let them down and we want them to come back home.
asserted
them → let → them
Andy Burnham is all 'fluttering eyelashes and pork scratchings,' Mrs Badenoch said as she tore into the Prime Minister.
asserted
she → flutter → Minister
She mocked the PM for saying that opening No10 North was the best day of his life and savaged his record on defence, the national debt and welfare.
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opening → mock → defence
Pictured: Kemi Badenoch and her husband Hamish after she delivered her closing speech at the Conservative Party conference
Accusing him of making promises he couldn't deliver with sums that didn't add up, she warned that he was 'not serious'.
asserted
he → picture → sums
'Don't let this man fool you with his fluttering eyelashes and his pork scratchings,' she said.
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she → let → eyelashes
'He said opening No 10 North was the best day of his life.
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opening → say → life
It's got a fake Cabinet room, a cardboard cutout of Larry the cat and the address isn't even No 10!
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address → get → Larry
She questioned Mr Burnham's decision to relaunch the Brexit wars after saying he did not want to rerun the referendum during his election campaign.
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he → question → campaign
Referring to his party conference speech, she criticised him for not talking about funding defence, getting borrowing under control and stopping illegal immigration.
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she → refer → immigration
'I am shocked that this Prime Minister doesn't have defence, the economy, immigration, or crime in his priorities.
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Minister → shock → priorities
She also rubbished his 'Hope Again' slogan, telling delegates: 'Hope is not a strategy.'
Paddington Bear won't save us from Putin
The Tory leader mocked Mr Burnham's record on defence as she branded him a 'Paddington Bear prime minister' who won't keep us safe from Russia.
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who → rubbish → Russia
Mrs Badenoch said it worried her that Mr Burnham had failed to mention funding defence in his speech as she said that the era of peace was over.
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era → say → peace
Dismissing him as 'not serious', she poured scorn on his record as a Shadow Cabinet member under Jeremy Corbyn.
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she → dismiss → Corbyn
'The last thing this country needs is a Paddington Bear prime minister, hoping that the problems go away, while Putin attacks our allies, while our economy flatlines,' she told delegates.
asserted
she → need → delegates
Mocking his record, she added: 'Let's be honest, if Russia sends a missile to hit Manchester, £2 bus fares are not going to save us.'
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fares → mock → us
She added: 'This is a man who was happy to serve in Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet.
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who → add → Cabinet
Nodding along to a man who wanted to take the UK out of Nato, give up our nuclear deterrent, and even disband our Army.
asserted
who → nod → Army
She added that the first duty of any government was defence of the realm as she said cutting welfare will allow the country to fund defence.
asserted
country → add → defence
The Tories this week have set out plans for a 'Britannia shield' to protect the UK from missiles and drones.
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Tories → set → missiles
Plan for growth and major tax reforms
Putting growth at the centre of her economic pitch yesterday, Mrs Badenoch promised voters prosperity 'that you can actually see and feel'.
asserted
you → put → that
She said her plan would be centred on cheap energy, and cutting the deficit, without which economic growth would be impossible.
asserted
growth → say → which
The Tory leader condemned the eye-watering complexity of the tax system, quipping that, at 23,000 pages long, it was bigger than 'all seven Harry Potter novels, the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare combined, four times over', adding: 'No wonder our economy isn't growing!'
asserted
economy → condemn → Shakespeare
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
