Kemi Badenoch launches leadership bid with brutal three-word attack on Labour

Kemi Badenoch is set to accuse Labour of being “clueless, irresponsible and dishonest” after cutting pensioner benefits while hiking up public sector pay.

Launching her bid to become the next Conservative leader, the shadow cabinet minister will vow to transform the party so it is ready for voters to turn to when Labour “fails”.

Ms Badenoch’s rallying cry comes as former home secretary James Cleverly also fires up his leadership bid with a promise to provide Conservative solutions to the nation’s problems.

The six candidates vying to replace Rishi Sunak will be whittled down to five on Wednesday when Tory MPs vote for the first time in the contest.

Shadow Treasury minister Alan Mak today announces his support for Ms Badenoch in an article for the Express, insisting she can return the Conservatives to power within five years.

Speaking in central London today, Ms Badenoch will attack Labour’s record after just two months in power, but warn criticising Sir Keir Starmer is not enough to restore Tory fortunes.

She will say: "The British people are yearning for something better, and this Labour Government is not it.

"They have no ideas. At best they are re-announcing things we have already done.

"And at their worst they are clueless, irresponsible and dishonest: trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the British public about the state of the UK finances, placing political donors into civil service jobs, and pretending they had no plans to cut pensioner benefits before the election – and now doing so to cover the cost of pay rises for the unions with no promise of reform.

"Their model of spend, spend, spend is broken and they don’t know what to do. This will only lead to even more cynicism in politics.

"But if The Conservatives want to become worthy of the British people's trust again, we can't just sit around pointing out how terrible Labour are… fun as it is.

"We can't just keep having the same policy arguments from the last parliament. We lost. We are not in power.

"Labour will fail; and when that time comes, and the British people are looking for change, we have to be that change.

"We have to focus on renewal. The renewal of our party, our politics, and our thinking."

Supporter Mr Mak said he has worked closely with Ms Badenoch and has seen how she acts with “confidence and decisiveness”.

“She has what it takes to build a new-look Conservative Party that is appealing, putting action at the heart of everything we do,” he wrote.

“Get this right, and we can defy conventional wisdom by renewing ourselves and returning to government after just one term in opposition.

‘Kemi is the candidate best placed to take us on that journey and deliver that renewal of our party and our country.”

Meanwhile, Mr Cleverly will say that Conservative answers are needed to solve the most challenging problems facing our country.

He wants the party to cut welfare spending, invest more in defence and cut taxes.

Mr Cleverly will say: “An unstable world, global migration, and a crisis of confidence in capitalism. We must get our act together as a party to provide the Conservative solutions to these problems. The solutions of the left don’t and won’t work.

“That means being honest and realistic about the role of the state. About what it should and can do, and what it should not and can not. The state should focus on doing fewer things very well, not everything badly.

“We accept that the state has a primary duty to protect its people and its borders. But Conservatives must be honest about the trade-offs in doing these things properly.”

Mr Cleverly will call for a family-first society and say it is time to move away from the culture of the state being treated as the first port of call when a problem arises.

He will add: “We must think and act like Conservatives again. Demonstrate that we understand the challenges our people and our country face, and provide the solutions to deliver a brighter future for our country.

“We accomplished much in Government, but our division and behaviour obscured the victories and compounded the mistakes.

“I will tackle the problems in front of us with Conservative solutions, and make the U.K the greatest power in Europe. Strong in defence of our people, our allies, and our values on the international stage. With security and prosperity at home.”

One of the frontrunners, Robert Jenrick, yesterday (SUN) warned that Rachel Reeves’ first budget will be a “declaration of war on the middle classes”.

The former immigration minister vowed he would “sock it” to Sir Keir and the Chancellor if he becomes Tory leader on November 2.

Mr Jenrick promised to create a “new Conservative Party”, vowing he would deport small boat migrants “within hours”, cut taxes and shrink the size of the state if he led the Tories back into power.

Addressing supporters, some wearing “we want Bobby J” baseball caps, Mr Jenrick said: “Labour’s first budget is shaping up to be something big. It’s shaping up to be a declaration of war on the middle classes of this county.

“It will shortly dawn on our new Prime Minister that the highest-earning pips have already been squeezed. So, the next target is you. The next target will be tax raids on working families across our country.”

The long Tory leadership contest means that Rishi Sunak will respond to the budget on October 30 rather than any of the candidates in the contest to succeed him.

Mr Jenrick said: “I don’t make the rules of this contest, so that is out of my hands.”

He said he was “ready to go on day one” and that the Tories had to “sock it to Keir Starmer and to Rachel Reeves because they stood on a platform of a ‘read my lips, no new taxes’ manifesto”.

Mr Jenrick’s rally at a conference centre in Westminster was addressed by the shadow Scottish secretary John Lamont, a Tory moderate, and Danny Kruger from the party’s right in an attempt to demonstrate that the leadership hopeful could unite both wings of the party.