LORD SOAMES: Authentic and formidable, Kemi Badenoch's no-nonsense approach can win back voters

By Lord Soames

Published: 22:00, 20 October 2024 | Updated: 22:50, 20 October 2024

I've been a member of the Conservative Party for decades and I have never seen us this fractured.

We are battered and bruised from infighting, and since this summer's catastrophic election result we risk being squeezed into obscurity by the Lib Dems and Reform.

We have one chance to get this right and we need a leader who can not only unite the party but re-invigorate us through a shared purpose. That person is Kemi Badenoch.

Kemi not only holds dear the principles that underpin the party – truth, integrity, family, equality under the law, limited government and national sovereignty – but she has the courage to stand up and fight for them.

We have been too afraid to defend Conservatism. We need someone who cannot be shouted down, who will not give up when things get difficult and, most importantly, someone who won't bend their principles to meet the day's newest vogue cause.

Every day we Conservatives face attempts to shut us down from the media, Left-wing students, celebrities and the bureaucratic class. They attempt to force us to back down on our principles. But Kemi is formidable. She will not shy away from doing what is right.

Still, people will try to divide us – and with social media it has never been easier to attack others you don't agree with. These types latch onto any opportunity to sow disunity within our party – and the simple truth is that the public do not vote for divided parties.

Much has been said about unity in this leadership contest, but unity built on a shaky foundation will not last. We cannot come together around individual policies five years out from another election.

Kemi's positive vision to renew the party and country around our shared Conservative principles is a lasting vision that every Conservative can get behind. But don't just take my word for it – Kemi has the most MPs, the most councillors, the most former MPs and the most peers backing her leadership.

She is an unashamed Right-wing politician, but with an authenticity that gains support from areas you'd least expect. It's exactly why focus groups show her no-nonsense approach could help us win back former Conservative voters.

Spin and cakeism dominate Westminster. Too many politicians subscribe to the idea that you can win elections purely on communication strategy and that it is too electorally dangerous to tackle the real issues.

In this climate, the last Conservative government did not offer to the voters a plausible alternative to Labour's message of 'change'. But as we are already seeing, the change Labour is making is not for the better.

Starmer inherited record high taxes, but will raise them further. In the face of social division, he continues to segment society. And with a younger generation unable to get onto the property ladder, the Prime Minister proposes building houses not where people actually want them, but where is politically easier.

This is why the public don't trust politicians any more. Turnout at the last election was the second lowest since 1885.

But why? It's because too many politicians are saying one thing then doing another, and avoid the real issues that plague society for a fear of not upsetting certain interest groups.

Politics is crying out for someone who is unafraid to say what needs to be said – and who will do what needs to be done. Kemi doesn't just talk a good game, she delivers. That is why her staunchest supporters are those who have worked with her and seen her in action.

'More of the same' politics is failing people. Our system is broken. We need root-and-branch reform.

Only Kemi has the ideas and bravery required to carry out the renewal of the Conservative Party.

Lord Soames is a Conservative peer who served as an MP from 1983 to 2019.

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