Kemi Badenoch has insisted she will not “rush out” policy positions, arguing that there is no “quick fix” following the Tories’ 2024 election defeat.
The Conservative leader claimed the process of rebuilding the party was a “marathon, not a sprint” and warned there were a number of challenges to face, including the local elections which she said would be “very difficult”.
She acknowledged she had limited time to introduce change but dismissed concerns that her approach would leave a policy vacuum that might be filled by Reform UK.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Badenoch said: “I don’t have as much time as I would like. Four years even in my view is not enough time to do what we want to do, which is a revolution in terms of how the state works and how our society functions.
“It is built for the 20th century and we need to change that. However, simply building a castle in the sand is not going to work either. My view is that I don’t have very much time but I have lots of things that need doing.”
She added: “We’re going to have milestones, things like local elections and so on, which are going to be very difficult.
“And I think what many commentators need to understand is that this is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Asked when it would become clearer what the party’s policy was on key issues, the leader said: “You will start to see them soon… watch this space is what I’m saying.”
It was put to Ms Badenoch that Reform has clear party positions on some issues, like renationalising Thames Water, to which she replied: “My position is that we start with what we are trying to solve.
Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch speaking at the Business Property Relief summit at the London Palladium (Lucy North/PA)
“I am the custodian of something very special. I’m not a dictator, I’m not a one-woman think-tank. There is no election right now.
“My job… is to be the opposition, be credible and effective, and analyse what the Government is doing, explain where it’s going wrong, and where possible, say what we would do differently.”
She added: “Reform is saying stuff because it hasn’t thought it all through. You can give easy answers if you haven’t thought it all through.
“I do the thinking and what people are going to get with new leadership under me is thoughtful Conservatism, not knee-jerk analysis.”
Ms Badenoch became Tory leader in November, defeating Robert Jenrick to replace Rishi Sunak.
The MP for North West Essex said in her victory speech that the party needs to be “honest” about the mistakes they made in government, and spent the leadership contest focusing on “principles” instead of policy.
But critics have said swift action is needed to see off the threat of Reform UK, which has been buoyed by a series of Conservative defections and a boost in the polls putting it within a few points of Labour and the Tories.
Asked about members switching to Nigel Farage’s party, Ms Badenoch suggested some of the moves were “personal,” citing former Tory minister and Boris Johnson ally Andrea Jenkyns.
“With some of those people, Andrea Jenkyns, for example, it’s very personal – don’t like me,” Ms Badenoch said.
Asked why she thought Ms Jenkyns, who has now announced her candidacy for Reform in the 2025 election for the Greater Lincolnshire mayoralty, she replied: “Honestly, I don’t really care.
“There are loads of other people who do like me. It’s politics. Some people will, some people won’t.”
She said that if people are members of a party “just because they want to be part of the new big thing, or they want to be part of whoever is leading in the polls, then they don’t believe in what we are about”.
On Sunday, one of Ms Badenoch’s shadow ministers said it will take time for voters to “understand” the new leader but they will “grow to really respect her”.
Shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake described his party leader as “bold” and “optimistic” and predicted that by 2029 the party will be in a “much better place in terms of convincing people to vote Conservative”.
Mr Hollinrake told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “Of course there’s work to do, of course it will take time for Kemi, for people to understand what Kemi is all about.”
He added: “She’s bold, she’s optimistic, she’s strong, she says what she thinks – which in politics, I think is quite a rare commodity, sadly.
“So I think over time, people will grow to really respect her. And I think come 2029 we’ll be in a much better place in terms of convincing people to vote Conservative.”