Badenoch Grilled in GB News Leadership Event mdi-fullscreen
It’s Badenoch’s turn now on GB News. A short pitch, then questions from members and Chris Hope…
Read live updates below:
Straw poll in the room: a handful of people have changed their minds. Some put hands up for Jenrick, many more for Kemi.
Assisted suicide. She says she has supported in in principle. But system is broken – failing to offer social care already.
Nigel in the Tory Party? If someone says they want to burn your church down, don’t let them in.
Badenoch likes Harris and Trump equally.
Role for Liz? She’s not an MP. Look to the future.
No to cannabis legalisation. No change to fox hunting laws.
Social media addictive. Children should be off it.
Reversing Labour’s education tax is first thing she would do in power.
Countries are trying to use guilt to exploit the UK. It is a scam.
We should look at ways of making it easier to bring up kids at home.
Kemi can take care of kids as well as being party leader. She was able to work in government with them.
Jenrick’s biggest weakness: the ECHR argument is not the right one. It will divide the party – end the drama by doing it the right way. Do not impose your views on everybody else. Jenrick declined to answer that one…
Party must be handed to the next generation. There is another centre-right party to worry about. If Tories get it wrong Reform will overtake them.
Quickfire questions.
NHS was built for a homogenous young working population. It needs reform.
Don’t attack Labour on every single thing. Be focussed and have a plan.
Justice: Troubled families are the problem. Education too.
Country is not a dormitory.
ECHR: Not a silver bullet. France sends back 70% of people. Used ECHR to protect gender-critical women. Guido seems to remember the EU’s deportation figure being significantly lower…
Reform strategy: Earn back trust. Speak with clarity and conviction like Nigel. For too long Tories were just policies, no principles.
“No one else has done more on Brexit than I have.”
Over 2,000 retained EU laws scrapped. Badenoch says purpose of law, not provenance of it is what matters.
Has Brexit been a success? Some of it. There wasn’t much of a plan. People need to stop blaming Brexit and just fix problems.
Policy commissions and policy reviews to be set up in opposition.
Too many people are out of work, or retiring early.
Where would you make cuts? Badenoch says government is doing too much, needs to change priorities. Spend more on defence. Making people productive again.
“People know what I believe.“
Badenoch says she does do media. She was on TalkTV yesterday. She doesn’t go on media for the sake of it.
The policies will come, she says. Party must be united first.
Record of delivery: Biggest trade deal since leaving EU, protecting women and children with Conservative values.
Need to pick a leader who can win back trust.
Race is about character and conviction, she says. Use opposition wisely.