Kemi Badenoch: Sacking Me Won’t Fix the Conservative Party

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK Conservative Party, has dismissed calls for her resignation following the party’s heavy losses in the local elections, stating that a change in leadership will not solve the party’s deeper issues. Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Badenoch said, “Reform had a good night. We had a bad night. And what this shows for a lot of people who hoped that just changing leader again would fix everything is that that’s not going to be enough.”

The comments come after the Conservatives lost 674 council seats and control of 16 local authorities in the May 1 elections. Meanwhile, Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, made major gains, winning 10 councils and securing 677 councillors. Badenoch, who took over from Rishi Sunak in November 2024, said the Tories had already tried changing leaders and that it led to a “historic defeat.”

Emphasizing a focus on long-term credibility over short-term political gains, she said, “We are going to come out with the policies that people want to see, but what we are not going to do is rush out and tell the public things that are not true just so we can win votes.” Badenoch added, “This is not about winning elections; this is about fixing our country. Yes, of course, you need to win elections to do that, but you also need a credible plan.”