'She Will Get Better': Mel Stride's Attempt To Defend Kemi Badenoch Backfires Spectacularly

Mel Stride and Kemi BadenochMel Stride’s attempt to defend Kemi Badenoch fell apart when he insisted the Conservative leader “will get better” at her job.Badenoch only became Tory leader in November, four months after the Tories’ historic general election defeat last July.But since then, the Conservatives have slumped even further, with the part losing nearly 700 councillors at last month’s local elections and even slipping to fourth place in a recent opinions poll, behind Reform UK, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.Badenoch has made plenty of high-profile gaffes too, including suggesting Israel is fighting a proxy war for the UK against Hamas and clashing with TV presenters over the Netflix show Adolescence. The Tory leader has not fared well at prime minister’s questions in the Commons either.She has been described as “embarrassing to watch” while she was criticised two weeks ago for apparently missing Keir Starmer’s announcement that Labour would U-turn on its decision to take winter fuel payments off 10 million pensioners.These very public slip-ups have led to some calls – from both within and outside the party – for Badenoch to be replaced.Shadow chancellor Stride tried to stand up for his leader today – but it ended up backfiring.After making a speech distancing the party from former Tory PMLiz Truss, a reporter asked him if the Tories should change the way they elect their leaders.Stride said he did not want to comment on the process – and then, without being prompted, started to insist that his boss would soon improve.Defending her unusual leadership style, Stride told the journalists: “If you look at the nature of the challenge and the approach to it that I have set out, which is deep thought through through time and thoughtfulness, she [Badenoch] is the person to lead us.“She will get better through time at the media.“She will get better through time at dispatch box though PMQs, just as Margaret Thatcher, when she became leader in ’75, was often criticised for everything from her hair to the clothes she wore to the pitch of her voice to heaven knows what else, in the end, she got it together, and Kemi will do absolutely that.“What she is doing behind the scenes is leading a shadow cabinet that is united, and our party has not been united in that way for a very long time.“And she is going to drive through the process with me and others, so that we come to the right conclusions.”Although it has been almost a year since the Tories’ abysmal election result, they still have very few policies. Badenoch has refused to unveil any big plans until 2027 – but still claims she is focused on regaining voters’ trust in the meantime.Speaking in January, the Tory leader said: “Reform is saying stuff because it hasn’t thought it all through. You can give easy answers if you haven’t thought it all through. I do the thinking and what people are going to get with new leadership under me is thoughtful Conservatism, not kneejerk analysis.”Related...Fresh Blow To Kemi Badenoch As Just 1 In 10 Brits Think Tory Leader Is PM In WaitingSenior Tory MPs Defy Kemi Badenioch To Call For A Palestinian State'It's A Case Of When, Not If': Tory MPs Believe Kemi Badenoch's Time As Party Leader Is Already Running Out

Comments

Breaking news

Woman marched off Glasgow Jet2 flight 'like a criminal' over anxiety issue

The Herald

French demand more money from Britain before they let their police try to stop migrants boarding small boats to cross the English Channel

about 1 hour ago

Dailymail

Amazing new footage from Ukraine's daring Operation Spiderweb shows drone's whole flight across flaming Russian airbase before it smashes into one of Putin's nuclear bombers

about 1 hour ago

Dailymail

Andorra vs England - World Cup Qualifiers: Live score, team news and updates as Thomas Tuchel hands midfielder his first Three Lions start since November 2023 - as he looks to maintain his 100 per cent record

about 1 hour ago

Dailymail

Fire breaks out at Appleby Horse Fair: Stall and tent are engulfed in flames as smoke billows cross gathering of thousands of gypsies from across Europe

about 1 hour ago

Dailymail

Nick Knowles and Katie Dadzie are MARRIED! Presenter, 62, ties the knot with lingerie boss bride, 34, who stuns in quirky blue and white floral wedding dress during six-figure ceremony

about 1 hour ago

Killer and rapist ex-police chief caught after prison escape in US

BBC News

BREAKING NEWS: Another proof of Operation Sindur’s success, a permanent dam tag on the headquarters of terrorist organization JEM

about 2 hours ago

IND VS ENG: Gautam Gambhir’s old colleague wins in England, the mantra, the bowler is called Trump Card

London Journal

‘Let down by a world that claims to be humane but does nothing’: Palestinians speak out as Israeli bulldozers raze West Bank villages

about 2 hours ago

Musk was Trump’s tweeter-in-chief. Now he’s using X against him

Independent

Sade Robinson went on a first date and never came home. Her murder has fueled demands for change in missing persons cases

about 2 hours ago

Independent

Trump-Musk feud live updates: Elon deletes tweet claiming the president is in the Epstein files amid public break-up

about 2 hours ago

Independent

Schoolgirl died after her breast cancer referral was downgraded – because she was just 16

about 2 hours ago

Comments

Breaking news

Woman marched off Glasgow Jet2 flight 'like a criminal' over anxiety issue

Outrage at newspaper’s plea for photos of women in skirts ‘the shorter the better’

‘TikTok addicted’ mum who stole £300,000 from work to spend on tokens is jailed

AP PHOTOS: Boxing is returning to Boston’s famed Fenway Park nearly after 70 years

Yemen's al-Qaida branch leader threatens Trump, Musk and others

An AP discussion on the courts, lawyers and testimony inside the Diddy, Weinstein and Mangione cases

Attorneys in NCAA antitrust case to share $475M in fees, with potential to reach $725M

Body found in search for experienced walker on Isle of Skye

Trump and Musk’s spectacular split minute-by-minute: How president and First Buddy’s friendship unraveled online

Ex-Reform chairman Zia Yusuf ‘snapped’ after a tirade of abuse from ‘extreme right’, claims Farage

JD Vance breaks his silence on Trump and Musk feud after seeing Elon’s Epstein tweet during Theo Von interview

Sabalenka wins first set against Gauff in French Open women's final

Government stalling in efforts to cut foreign aid spent on asylum seekers

Donald Trump wants his new Air Force One as soon as possible. That could be an issue

What is ‘tech neck’ and how can you fix it?

House DOGE caucus leader says ‘everybody knew’ Elon Musk was exaggerating his cost-cutting achievements

Why Trump and Musk’s spectacular feud could be a disaster for space travel

Cardiologist reveals his ‘go-to’ breakfast for a healthy heart

Why so many Thai nationals are among the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza

Woman in her 20s ‘raped’ yards from iconic seaside town pier as man, 45, is arrested

King Charles 'excited' by incredible but 'baffling' discovery at Windsor Castle

Riot cops storm Glasgow city centre streets as man arrested amid 'disturbance'

Boy, 11, becomes second child to die after minibus crash

Musk post claiming Trump appears in Epstein files removed

Bestselling Ninja air fryer at lowest price all year on Amazon and cheaper buying direct

Gatwick Airport horror as body found on backseat of BMW with car 'left abandoned for MONTHS'

MPs could vote to force government to build 150,000 social homes a year

Red Arrows flypast this weekend - full list of areas in England you can see iconic planes

JD Vance reveals how President Donald Trump really feels about his Elon Musk bromance feud

Poll reveals whether Americans stand with Trump or Musk as feud spirals

Perrie Edwards puts on a very busty display in a nude bikini and cowboy hat as she shares sizzling poolside snaps

French demand more money from Britain before they let their police try to stop migrants boarding small boats to cross the English Channel

Amazing new footage from Ukraine's daring Operation Spiderweb shows drone's whole flight across flaming Russian airbase before it smashes into one of Putin's nuclear bombers

Andorra vs England - World Cup Qualifiers: Live score, team news and updates as Thomas Tuchel hands midfielder his first Three Lions start since November 2023 - as he looks to maintain his 100 per cent record

Fire breaks out at Appleby Horse Fair: Stall and tent are engulfed in flames as smoke billows cross gathering of thousands of gypsies from across Europe

Nick Knowles and Katie Dadzie are MARRIED! Presenter, 62, ties the knot with lingerie boss bride, 34, who stuns in quirky blue and white floral wedding dress during six-figure ceremony

Killer and rapist ex-police chief caught after prison escape in US

As World Pride begins in Washington, some foreigners stay away

Dawn French says sorry for posting 'one-sided' Gaza video

Man, 29, dies after Yamaha motorbike crash in Highlands

Witness appeal after man dies in SUV crash in West Lothian

Beware of Crypto Investors! Investing can be dangerous, making kidnapers target

BREAKING NEWS: Another proof of Operation Sindur’s success, a permanent dam tag on the headquarters of terrorist organization JEM

IND VS ENG: Gautam Gambhir’s old colleague wins in England, the mantra, the bowler is called Trump Card

Distant moon could have aliens on it – and experts just spotted a ‘mysterious motion’ in its atmosphere

BREAKING NEWS: Sonia Gandhi’s sudden health condition, Shimla’s IGMC hospital

Tommy Robinson kicked out of London restaurant because ‘staff didn’t want to serve him’

Why did Donald Trump and Elon Musk fall out? Feud explained

Boy, 11, dies weeks after another child killed in M4 minibus crash

A US territory's colonial history emerges in state disputes over voting and citizenship

Here's what to know about American Samoans in Alaska who are being prosecuted after trying to vote

How Robert Jenrick skewered Kemi Badenoch’s Tory leadership reboot

‘Let down by a world that claims to be humane but does nothing’: Palestinians speak out as Israeli bulldozers raze West Bank villages

Musk was Trump’s tweeter-in-chief. Now he’s using X against him

Israel backs an anti-Hamas armed group known for looting aid in Gaza. Here's what we know

‘He had everyone fooled:’ How a 24-year-old Venezuelan man lived a lie as a high school student for over a year

Egg recall over salmonella warning spans across nine states

Sade Robinson went on a first date and never came home. Her murder has fueled demands for change in missing persons cases

Trump-Musk feud live updates: Elon deletes tweet claiming the president is in the Epstein files amid public break-up

Schoolgirl died after her breast cancer referral was downgraded – because she was just 16