Kemi Badenoch interviewed by WRN

[IwantToRetire]

NB have not watched so have no idea what she was asked or what she said.

Posted for info.

Not any particular political bias.

Though a tiny bit impressed that she agreed to the interview!

Thank you for this. Listened to about half so far. I'm always impressed when listening to Kemi. I just wish the Tory party wasn't hemorrhaging politicians to Reform. I think it's a shame that she has to deal with the legacy that people like Boris left behind. I would love to see her as PM, I do really think she could be a great PM.

What I find difficult is I often hear her speaking on a number of issues she sounds sensibile and straight forward.

And then she comes out with a Tory, well Tory lite, type statement and for me is just jars.

Its seems hard to understand why someone who seems so grounded cant see that given the years of Tory policies (without even mentioning the personality dramas) has left this is such a bad way. Not thiat i think Labour would have done any better, but how can she not see that neither party can get away with talking as though things havent really change.

By that I'n not referring to Farage or any other media led diversion, but that we literally cant balance the books.

IWantToRetire that’s interesting, what sort of statements are you talking about? I seem to remember that Kemi recognised and apologised for previous Tory failures, and she’s spent a lot of time (when she was very quiet) developing a coherent vision of how she’d like the country to go forward. She’s now doing quite a lot of media, and I’m impressed by how, in the round, it hangs together; including with interviews with her senior team.
Yes, the Tories are losing elected representatives, but I think that Kemi’s approach will be way easier to present and defend than Reform’s, because it seems it will be coherent. Whether in the end that beats them at the ballot box, who knows?
She’s definitely right wing, and obv not everyone will like her policies, I’m not sure it will be for me. That said, I think she has a vision and a plan to achieve it, all based on common sense, and that might be enough for me. Meanwhile, Starmer doesn’t even think that’s something that he needs 🤷‍♀️

I'm not in the UK.
I quite like Kemi Badenoch. She seems to have a more direct manner than a lot of politicians.

She comes across as human, and has somehow kept a bit of a sense of humour, which is always welcome in a politician.
If I looked more closely, I'm sure there are lots of things I'd dislike about her and disagree with profoundly!
But on a purely personal level, I like her more than the other party leaders, and I like the combination of engineering and law in her background.

I'm similar. On a personal level I warm to Kemi Badenoch but then I am reminded of things like her considering our current maternity pay "excessive". The Tory party could get people like me to vote for it, but it would have to come quite a long way back towards the centre (I'm basically an orange book liberal, which is not too far from some earlier incarnations of the Tory party) and I don't see it doing that under KB, or any of her rivals, sadly. I was interested to hear about the recent formation of the Prosper movement within the party, though - Ruth Davidson is involved and she's another of the Tories I have quite a bit of time for.

Her remarks were taken out of context in my opinion. She was talking about the burdens on small businesses and pointing out that all ‘benefits’ come from someone else’s taxes. Yes, maternity pay is crap and I would like to see it increase but as a country we need to start living within our means so something else will have to give. I’m sure we all have different opinions on things we would cut (all the govt. money spent on gender bollocks is my first choice as a start.)

https://news.sky.com/story/kemi-badenoch-claims-maternity-pay-remarks-were-misrepresented-13224825

As for Ruth Davidson, she is no friend of women.
“Nuance’, 'culture war’, blah blah blah, get off the bloody fence Ruth. She has more in common with Penny Mordant than Kemi Badenoch.

https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/ruth-davidson-rights-of-trans-people-and-women-do-not-need-to-be-in-conflict-3677360

I didn't know that about Ruth Davidson but I've read around a bit and see that she goes along with the 'vulnerable minority' line.🙄
I'm reading it as a fear of offending - which I totally identify with on a personal level, but I'm not a politician. Politicians need to be brave enough to act on principle, not on 'will it be awkward at the next dinner party?'

Not really directly on topic, but she was also on this week's Desert Island Discs on R4 which was interesting.

I was in that call. She was great, well informed and all about protecting women and girls, and single sex spaces. Questions were submitted in advance so all mics were off, but the chat was open and she was keeping her eye on it and responding to particular comments. I was very impressed with her after spoiling my ballot in the past as I felt there was no party that would stand up for women and she has persuaded me. I could never vote for any party that doesn't protect women or pretends not to know what a woman is.

I also think - again, looking in from outside the UK - that the defections to Reform may be beneficial to KB and the Conservatives, as the party has lost some of the more 'Marmite' members, who possibly have strong leadership ambitions, thereby giving the party a more settled, coherent centre-right image to present to the electorate.
Arguably

I really hope you're right.

There are probably a lot of voters who see Reform as their only option currently who might be relieved to be given another choice partly because it will be more acceptable at dinner parties and they can then be honest about who they're voting for.

Making the current Tory party more distanced from the failures of the past is also important.

I have liked Kemi for a long time and I thought she seemed very honest and open in that interview. I was centre-left on social issues but I am now centre-right thanks to the continued capitulation to gender ideology on the left, despite the obvious detriments to women's rights and child safeguarding.
However, on economic issues I am less convinced by the Tories. Centrist economic policies do not seem to be working for the UK in the post-2008 world.

Haven’t yet listened to this interview, I will shortly, but . . .
As someone who has never considered voting Tory in my long life, I am hugely impressed with Kemi and like others here I think a lot is down to her background.
She IS an immigrant, so she knows what that entails, and what ambitious arrivals appreciate about this country, way more than politicians who take it all for granted. She knows exactly why immigrants want to come, and that setting limits is no reflection on them, but a simple question of practicality.
Plus, she struggled to get a worthwhile education in this country without resources behind her, so understands the value and challenges of that too.
And finally - the speed with which she got her head around the dangers of gender nonsense was absolutely second to none, and the thing which like most of us here I expect first brought her to my attention.
And of course the fact that she treats being Black African as just an incidental thing about herself not any grounds for special treatment/kudos. You’d never hear her for example wittering on about being the first Black woman etc etc the way Rachel Reeves did before she’d actually done anything of note!
Honestly - though I don’t agree with everything Kemi says of course, overall she hasn’t disappointed me yet.

I found this very frustrating at the time because I felt she phrased her comment very carefully, pointing out that she was a working mum, that maternity leave and benefits were important for mums, but that the system didn't work well for small businesses.

Similarly she's commented that the way school children with SEN are funded as being not economically sustainable, and not evidently very effective, and that is immediately spun in all kinds of crazy ways, including "Kemi hates SEN children and mothers and just wants them to starve/remain uneducated/be chained to the kitchen sink."

I can never figure out if people who do this think that the policies are sustainable, or effective, or what, but there seems to be a complete unwillingness to acknowledge that economic sustainability matters at all and discuss them in a serious way.

Sorry quick response to PP and now cant find, but asked what it was that jarred.

I am by no means "left wing" but I find her sort of confidence that a business approach will work just doesn't reflect the diversity of how this countries currently works, or rather maybe doesn't.

Without in any way diminishing her personal achievements, I think that she needs to understand not everyone is like her. Sometimes circumstance, sometimes people's own failings, means we need support systems and so on.

The legacy of Thatcher's failure that turned out to be the most horrendous assect stripping of our shared wealth means she cant just trot out somehow if we all knucked down it would be alright. It wasn't after Thatcher and was made worse by Blair.

Sad to say I think in some ways, despite sound sensible and straight forward, she seems to me a bit out of touch.

But even if the ERG had been kicked out of the Tory Party years ago and pre-empted Reform, it wouldn't help the Tories when the people who get to the top are complete buffoons like Johnson.

But also recognise that those in the Tory Party to begin with, egged on by the media, had the same reaction as they did to Theresa May. Another woman who wasn't flamboyant and thought she was just making sensible straight forward proposals is not thought to be leader material, as they think loud oppinionated men are the true leaders.

In fact even though I know many people dread the idea of a Parliament made up of many smaller parties, for me the relieve of not having endless internal strife in political parties, and personality spats, and instead talk of policies would be a relief, is what I am now thinking I want.

ie Labour is clearly 2 (if not more) political groupings ie an actual left wing and a not quite middle of the road left.

Just as the Tories are 2 if not 3 political groupings, with what was the ERG and the rats who have now defected to Reform, the small business Thatcherites and a few remnants of the older 50s "gentlemen" social duty tories. If any of this last group are left they are probably now in the HoL. (Accepted the Welfare state and state intervention in creating full employment. And the Rules Based Order! Which all seem a bit quaint and old fashioned now.)

If there is an election soon, lots would hold their noses and vote for a complete change, i.e. Reform, but unfortunately Reform comes with a price tag of being led by a Boris- alike, work-dodging inebriate. Does Reform have anyone acceptable, as a Farage replacement?

This is a PS to previous post.

I now find I am out of date and there is a further Tory split created by Propser UK, according to this article.
https://observer.co.uk/news/columnists/article/reform-is-turning-into-a-recycling-centre-for-toxic-conservative-waste-products

I suspect it will be another low turnout, which the media all fails to report on ie talking about stunning Starmer victory when the reality was less people voted for him than the did for Corbyn when he was leader of the Labour Party.

More and more it isn't about who is winning, but more about which is the biggest loser.

A Reform win, should he happen, on a tiny turnout, just confirms they dont represent the UK.

This is a very interesting interview.

I don't agree with Kemi Badenoch's approach on every aspect of public policy but I do very much respect her understanding of the issues discussed by WRN and other women's groups - I really appreciated the fact that she actually answers questions from the public properly rather than giving smooth answers that sounds focus grouped. I honestly would consider voting for the Tories under Badenoch (which shocks me, me being a lifelong Lefty voter!).

I also appreciate her advice on how to get Bridget Phillipson to release the EHRC guidance - Badenoch appears to be very solutions-focussed and I like that aspect of her personality.

Thanks - reminds me I should actually listen to this!