Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, has taken a swipe at her shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, dismissing his remarks as little more than “my thoughts repackaged” as the Conservative Party braces for its annual conference in Manchester this weekend.

The comments come as Badenoch faces one of the toughest stretches of her leadership, with devastating approval ratings and a steady stream of defections to Reform UK. Polls continue to suggest that Jenrick is emerging as the frontrunner to succeed her, setting the stage for a tense gathering of party members.

Badenoch, however, has promised to inject some freshness into the conference, pledging that this year’s event will be “more fun than usual.” She emphasized her commitment to allowing members to speak openly.

“I think people should just speak freely, no matter what the consequences are. I don’t mind people straying a little bit off piste.”
Kemi Badenoch

When pressed about Jenrick, she appeared to brush off his influence. “Yes, but most of them are my thoughts repackaged,” Badenoch said.

“I don’t mind that he says what he thinks. The advantage of having a leadership contest is that you’ve kind of already said what you think. Repeating it, which is what Rob tends to do, is not new information.”
Kemi Badenoch

Despite polling that shows the Conservatives sitting at least 10 points behind Labour, Badenoch maintained that she has “quite a lot of self-belief.” She added, “I certainly wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. So reinforcing myself, thankfully, is not something that I need to do.”

Reflecting on her first year in office, Badenoch acknowledged the challenges that accompanied her rise to leadership, including the growing influence of Reform UK under Nigel Farage. With Reform claiming to be the “main opposition party” after strong showings in polls and local elections, Badenoch admitted that much of her early tenure was spent in survival mode.

“I basically inherited a distressed asset and my first job was to just make sure we didn’t go bust. Most of my first three to six months were spent on that. I just couldn’t get out there much. The opportunity cost was perhaps not doing much media.”
Kemi Badenoch

A recent seat-by-seat YouGov survey underscored the depth of Conservative struggles, projecting a catastrophic election outcome that could leave the party with just 45 MPs. The same poll placed Labour, Reform UK, and the Liberal Democrats well ahead, with Reform projected at 78 MPs.

Climate Policy Sparks Fresh Debate

Badenoch also sought to clarify her stance on environmental policy, rejecting suggestions that she is sceptical about the climate crisis. The Tory leader has unveiled a controversial policy to scrap the Climate Change Act, landmark legislation introduced by Labour in 2008 that legally committed the UK to cut emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

“I’m not sceptical about climate change. That’s very obviously happening. But there’s been a lot of deception around the net zero agenda and I really want to expose that.
“Net zero has become nothing more than a slogan … We need to do what we can sensibly to tackle climate change but we cannot do it alone. If other countries aren’t doing it, then us being the goody-two-shoes of the world is not actually encouraging anyone to improve.”
Kemi Badenoch

The pledge has drawn criticism from environmental advocates, who argue that dismantling existing climate commitments could undermine Britain’s global credibility. But Badenoch insists the shift is about realism rather than retreat, framing it as a necessary step to keep energy affordable for households while maintaining economic stability.

As the Conservative Party heads into its conference, Badenoch faces a delicate balancing act: reasserting her authority within a fractured party while defending her policies to an increasingly skeptical electorate. Whether her confidence and bold repositioning on climate will be enough to steady her leadership remains to be seen.