Badenoch tells Tory MPs: Be ‘authentically conservative'
In a memo issued to all Conservative MPs, Mrs Badenoch set out a blueprint to help the party reconnect with traditional Tory voters after the general election defeat.
'Unlike any other party, our policy approach means telling hard truths and being serious about the challenges,' she said,
The guidance is also meant to draw clear dividing lines with Nigel Farage's insurgent Reform UK party.
It follows a bruising set of local election results, and polling which consistently places Reform ahead of the Conservatives.
The four-page document is framed as an update on the party's Long-term Policy Renewal Program and warns MPs to 'work together' to talk about the 'good announcements' the party has made, before listing what the leader sees as a set of key achievements.
It begins with a reminder to MPs that they must help communicate to the public that the Tories are 'the only political party unequivocally committed to standing up for the Union'.
The briefing underlines a 'clear set of authentic conservative principles', counting among them 'freedom, pro-enterprise, personal responsibility, living within our means, national interest before international interest, lower taxes and a smaller state, and secure borders.'
The memo comes as MPs head into recess, a period over summer when politicians traditionally head back to their constituencies as Parliament is no longer in session.
Threat of Reform
It also comes after back to back polls showing Reform continuing to outstrip the Conservatives, capitalising on dissatisfaction over immigration.
Recent polls have shown Reform leapfrogging both the Conservatives and Labour, with Mr Farage seen as a more favourable choice as potential Prime Minister too.
Though the document does not mention Reform by name, several of its talking points occupy policy areas frequently favoured by the rival party.
On immigration, the memo states: 'We have tabled the landmark 'Deportation Bill', which sets out a clear vision for border control under a Conservative Government, with tough, practical measures designed to end abuse, enforce the law, and put British interests first.'
Then on policing, it claims the Tories forced 'Labour to U-turn on disgraceful plans for two-tier justice'.
It tells MPs they should 'respect our independent legal system' but 'oppose the legal activism which see courts going in the opposite direction to the will of the elected Parliament'.
The document slams Labour's 'flagship' planning reforms as well, stating they will not work, and that Labour are 'building homes in the countryside and not in towns and cities where people want to live, and they are overriding local democratic consent by bypassing planning committees'.
A Conservative Party aide said that the letter 'demonstrates the new direction of the party'.
They added: 'With Labour tanking the economy and U-turning every other week, and Reform going after Left-wing votes with higher benefits and nationalisation, this letter is a reminder that our party's route back to power lies through being authentic conservatives, underpinned by authentic conservative principles.'
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