Kemi Badenoch Can't Stop Getting Frosty With Broadcasters As Tory Woes Continue

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch adjusts her headphones as she prepares to speak to media on day three of the Conservative Party conference on October 7, 2025 in Manchester.Kemi Badenoch clashed repeatedly with different broadcasters today as she was scrutinised over the Tories’ decline.She is struggling to motivate her party 15 months on from their historic defeat at the ballot box last July and their collapse in the opinion polls since she became leader last November.Speaking from the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester – where delegate numbers have dropped dramatically – the Tory leader was frosty with multiple journalists when they questioned her over the party’s continuing decline.It seemed Badenoch was trying out a new Conservative tactic: blaming the media. For instance, on BBC Breakfast, Badenoch questioned the veracity of a new report from The Guardian which revealed shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick had complained that part of Birmingham is a “slum” with “no white faces”.Badenoch defended her colleague, adding: “Given that it’s The Guardian, I think I’m going to take some of that with a pinch of salt. They haven’t always been the most accurate newspaper.”The Guardian’s report actually included a recording of Jenrick’s remarks.But Badenoch also suggested the comments may have been taken out of context, saying: “I don’t know what was being discussed before he said that. But in and of itself, it’s a factual statement.“If he said he didn’t see another white face, he might have been making an observation. There’s nothing wrong with making observations.”She added that they both agree there’s a problem with integration into British society by some immigrants.Badenoch also appeared rather “cross” when speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby later on in the day.Asked what she thought about Reform UK – their right-wing rivals who are leading in the polls – Badenoch said: “I’m not interested in talking about Nigel Farage.“You tell me that people aren’t interested in me. I’m on your show. Ask me about what I think. You spent most of the interview asking about Reform.“Reform’s already had their conference, Beth!”Rigby replied: “Am I making you... is it making you cross that I’m doing this? Because you seem irritated.”“No, it isn’t,” Badenoch insisted. “I just think that your viewers want to know what I am offering. I’m not offering Nigel. I’m offering authentic conservatism.”She was also asked about the possibility of setting up a pact with Reform UK, as Rigby reminded the Tory leader: “Half of your members don’t think you’re the right person to lead them into the next election.”“Well, I simply don’t believe that,” Badenoch said – despite a new YouGov poll saying just that.Badenoch also claimed that polls had suggested she was not going to win the leadership contest last year, only for her to narrowly clinch victory.A similar spat occurred when the Tory leader was speaking to ITV’s Robert Peston, and she was asked to elaborate on her previous claims that Britain needs a “wholesale new approach to tackling misinformation and bias in our media”.Alluding to Israel’s war in Gaza, the MP for North West Essex said: “Quite a lot of the reporting about the conflict in the Middle East has actually not been accurate and I think it’s important that people know what’s going on.”Badenoch said she has spoken to people in mourning after last week’s terror attack in Manchester synagogue who fear the way the Middle East conflict is being reported.“They are very worried about a lot of the rhetoric they see on the media. And it’s not just BBC, Al Jazeera, so much BBC Arabic translations actually being sanitised. Very, very hostile, incitement to violence, incitement to murder,” Badenoch claimed.Meanwhile, BBC political editor Chris Mason put it to Badenoch that “this is a battle for attention and you’re losing”.She said: “Yes. That’s right.”But then she suddenly changed her tune, adding: “Well, I’m getting the attention now because your viewers are watching. I’m not losing. I am going to be winning because people can see we’re the only party that can deliver stronger economy, stronger borders.”Related...'A Grave Political Error': Tories Hit Out At Kemi Badenoch Over Plan To Leave ECHR'Disgusting': Kemi Badenoch Savaged Over Plans For Trump-Style Immigration Raids'You Have No Idea!' Kemi Badenoch Hits Back At Laura Kuenssberg Over Tories' Dreadful Polling

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