Listening to Kemi Badenoch on R4

[OrangeCrushes]

She is refusing to answer any questions about what the Conservatives would actually do, other than blame Labour for problems that her party created. All she does is attack the host. Maddening.

I find that she's not a very good speaker, and rarely articulates the party's policies. It tends to just be negative about Labour and I find it very annoying when politicians do that. It's like thet don't have answers.

Is this your first time listening to a politician being interviewed? They all do that!

Some are worse than others, to be fair.

Which is why I never waste my time listening to politicians being interviewed - especially on the Today programme.

She was spectacularly bad this morning though - a bit like a kid with their fingers in their ears shouting "La, La, La, can't hear you". I have no idea what she actually said because it was just two people talking over each other (and me shouting "for God's sake just shut up and take a breath").

I didn’t listen to this but I know she has said repeatedly that she wants some time to develop the right policies following the massive defeat the party suffered last year.

Interestingly, I was listening to a podcast recently about Thatcher and how she had about 2 years following her 1979 appointment as leader to develop policy before there was any real pressure for her to do so. The 24hr media ‘beast’ didn’t exist and didn’t need feeding in the same way. So while Kemi may want time in opposition to craft policy, it doesn’t feel like she’s going to have that opportunity because of all the interviews she has to do where answers are expected sooner rather than later.

She's our local MP.
Only ever appears here when there's a film crew.
Did nothing of note for her constituency, before being elected as Conservative leader. And has continued to maintain that level of non-performance.

That’s what all opposition leaders do at this point in the political cycle. Oppose. Attack whatever the government says & does without saying what they would do. There isn’t going to be an election for four years, so they can have a free hit, and come 2029 nobody will remember or care what they said four years previously.

nobody will remember or care what they said four years previously

But I have no idea what she said today - it was just 2 people talking loudly at the same time.

I love it. Under her watch the Tories are a complete mess and Reform are picking off her MPs and former supporters. She's particularly entertaining at PMQ.

She was particularly awful this morning, steamrollering over everything with a righteous tone and zero acknowledgement she'd been part of the previous government running the country into the ground

Shortly after she was elected leader I was listening to a podcast with Ruth Davidson who commented that you couldn't scold people into voting Tory. I think that summer up Mrs Badenoch.

Agreed. The best thing they could do is replace her with Jenrick, who is pretty credible (for a tory). But they're toast anyway.

From what I understand, they're not changing leader because they're worried how it would look. They're sticking with her for the time being. Jen rick seems very hard right so I don't think that would be a good move. It's incredible to see a party that has been so strong for so many years disintegrate like this.

What the Tories would do is increasingly looking like an academic question.

Agree - that is literally the role of the opposition.

Kier Starmer was particularly good in opposition.

Tbf the Conservatives really ought to have some policy suggestions and a clear idea of the state of current policy given they basically just left office.

Credible? Jenrick?

This is the guy who used to be a centrist Remainer & Cameron loyalist. He has now re-invented himself as being to the right of Farage.

I don’t think she’ll be the leader going into the next election. . She doesn’t seem to engage the public and what she says is largely irrelevant