A senior Tory MP has refused to say whether he believes Kemi Badenoch will be leader of the Conservative Party by the time of the next election.
Asked if she has been a “failure” on GB News, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown told host Christopher Hope: “Inevitably, after the catastrophic defeat that we had in last July’s general election, it was going to be a really tough job for the first year or two.
“So her job is to gradually not only come up with some policies, but actually start to get on the media. And she does that where she can. But of course, at the moment, other things are happening, and she just isn’t getting the coverage.”
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Clifton-Brown indicated that Badenoch requires greater media visibility and must articulate the party’s positions more forcefully to secure her position.
He argued: “I think she needs to be more outspoken, really bang the drum as to what we actually do stand for. And after all, we’ve got 120 members of Parliament. Reform has got, what, four or something?
“We really ought to be able to start with all those spokesmen coming on the radio and social media all the time.
“We really ought to be able to start to actually get it across to the public what we do actually stand for, and what we’re doing about the problems, the very, very serious problems that this country faces.”
Pressed by Christopher about potential leadership challenges, Clifton-Brown claimed: “That would be pure speculation, but I didn’t get the impression before the parliamentary break that there was a level of dissatisfaction that would warrant letters going in.
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“I think we’ve really got to wait and see, give her a little bit more space, give her a little bit of air time over the party conference and see how that all shakes out.”
Grilled on whether Badenoch would be Tory leader at the next election, he told GB News: “She’s got a lot of what it takes. She’s brave, she’s bright, she’s gutsy.
“She just needs to actually start to bang the drum a little bit more and actually show what the Conservative Party really stands for.
“She’s got some good people in her Shadow Cabinet. Get them out and about in the country a bit more, and really start banging that drum and start having some policies to oppose what this Government is getting wrong in the economy, on immigration, on health.
“There are a of things going wrong in this country, sadly, at the moment.”
The MP suggested that Badenoch’s leadership should strengthen progressively, stating that “every month that goes on, she should be getting better”.
Asked the question a second time, Clifton-Brown admitted: “I’ve no idea, Chris. I think it depends on how she performs over the next few months. Every month that goes on, she should be getting better.”
He proposed reassessing her position following the autumn party conference, telling the programme: “We’ll see after the party conference. Have me on after the party conference, and then we’ll see.”
Clifton-Brown indicated that the conference period would provide crucial “air time” for Badenoch to demonstrate her capabilities and vision for the party.
