Sky News paused for urgent breaking announcement as Tory leader speaks out

Sky News was interrupted on Thursday morning when the programme aired a statement from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch about the upcoming local elections which will take place on May 1. Political Editor Sam Coates probed Ms Badenoch about the "ideological and policy differences" between the Tories under her leadership and Reform UK.

The politician replied in a veiled dig at Reform UK leader Nigel Farage: "One of the things which I have been saying quite frequently, and I said in my speech on Tuesday when I launched our policy renewal programme, was that we don't just make announcements; we have a plan. Loads of other parties just tell people what they think they want to hear, we think through and make sure that we are providing a credible plan that can be delivered.

"A lot of people have lost trust in politics because politicians make promises and don't deliver. We also fell foul of that from time to time. What I say now is that the Conservative Party is under new leadership. This is not show business, this is not a game, this is about peoples’ lives and all those out there who need credible politicians. That is what we are offering."

Ms Badenoch also attacked Labour's record in Government and town halls, claiming: "If you vote Labour, you get trash." She pointed to the bin strikes in Labour-run Birmingham, as well as measures taken by the Government like the inheritance tax on farms.

She stated: "We are the only credible choice: Lib Dems will wreck your public services, Reform has no experience running anything, Greens will run councils into the ground and Labour will spend, tax and waste your money, just like they always do.

"As I said earlier, these elections will be tough, but we are up for the fight. We are building a gold-standard campaign machine, but we need you and all our brilliant volunteers and supporters to get out and help. Every leaflet, every conversation, every vote counts."

Voters across a number of county councils and unitary authorities in England will go to the polls on May 1, the first major electoral test since last July's election.

The Conservatives suffered a crushing General Election defeat last summer, and have since been overtaken in opinion polls by Reform UK.

The Tory campaign launch comes just days after Nigel Farage revealed 29 councillors had defected to Reform UK from the Conservatives, Lib Dems and independent political positions.

The Reform UK leader hopes to prove "that the polls aren't virtual", and demonstrate his party does have a foothold with the electorate during the May elections.