Kemi Badenoch Launches 'The Right Way' at Tory Conference
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch unveiled a foundational governing document and policy pledges to reset the party's intellectual foundations during the annual conference in Birmingham.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch launched a 95-page philosophical guide titled "The Right Way" at the party's annual conference in Birmingham. Modeled after Margaret Thatcher's 1976 treatise, the document establishes five guiding principles for a future government, emphasizing wealth creation, personal responsibility, and a strong but restrained state. Badenoch used the launch to acknowledge past Conservative failures regarding immigration, net zero legislation, and the economic planning of Brexit.
Alongside the intellectual framework, Badenoch introduced concrete policy pledges to position the party as the voice of "common sense." These include creating 50,000 new prison places by reducing the annual overseas aid budget to £1 billion, spending 3% of GDP on defense by 2030, and ending the childcare "cliff edge" by extending 30 hours of free care to parents earning over £100,000. She further advocated for leaving the European Convention on Human Rights and repealing the Climate Change Act.
Badenoch contrasted her approach with Prime Minister Andy Burnham, whom she characterized as a "cheesy uncle" and claimed his economic plans will "all come to nought." In response, Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson stated the Conservatives are "stuck in the past." Meanwhile, Prime Minister Burnham used his own party's conference in Liverpool to attack Margaret Thatcher's record and propose the nationalization of water companies that fail to serve the public interest.
