• 2 days ago
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has insisted she will not be rushed into policy positions, claiming there is no "quick fix" following the party's defeat in July's general election.Badenoch became the party's sixth leader in less than nine years when she was elected at the start of November.In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said the public "kicked out" the Conservatives because the party was not trusted and did not deliver, adding building trust is "something that takes a while".Badenoch also dismissed concerns that her approach of not pinning down policy positions could leave a vacuum that might be filled by Reform UK.Speaking to Amol Rajan, Badenoch 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 knee-jerk analysis.""We are about what we are for, not just what we are against," she said earlier in the interview.
Transcript
00:00does come a point where on a range of different things, economic growth, the welfare bill,
00:05taxes that you would cut, Thames water, what's going on with British Steel, it's quite hard to
00:11work out what you would do and your position which is, I can't say what I would do necessarily
00:16because it's a hypothetical and I want to be honest, might have some plaudits but I suggest to
00:20you humbly that perhaps there are other people who want a bit more. We are six weeks into a four
00:27year general election, maybe five even depending on exactly how it works. Whatever I say now is
00:34likely not to apply then. So what I'm going to do is earn the trust of the British people by
00:40explaining to them how we think and we are going to bring the policy out as it's thought through.
00:45So I'm not saying we're not going to say anything vote for us, these things will come.
00:48When will they come?
00:51You will start to see them soon.
00:52Start to see what?
00:53Yes, yes, I'm not.
00:54So we say springtime, we're going to get a sense of what taxes the Tory party might cut.
00:58Watch this space is what I'm saying. You will see, there will be a narrative.

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