Conservatives appear united behind Badenoch, says BBC political editor

Birmingham’s Symphony Hall is due to serve as the main stage for the 2026 Conservative Party conference, where Kemi Badenoch is expected to set out the principles she wants the party to champion. The build-up has included a proposed major expansion of prison places and an announced ‘tough love’ approach to young people seeking benefits. [1]

In a BBC News preview published on 3 October, journalist Laura Kuenssberg interpreted the return to Symphony Hall as a sign that the party could draw a substantial conference audience. She judged Badenoch’s position within the party secure and said the leader had become better known to the public. An unnamed ally told her that people now knew where Badenoch stood. [1]

Badenoch told interviewers that the Conservatives were ‘finally saying what we believe’ and ‘should be more aggressive’ in displaying their core beliefs, Kuenssberg reported. Kuenssberg expects her to expand on those principles at the conference. [1]

The challenge extends beyond Badenoch’s own profile. An unnamed shadow cabinet member told Kuenssberg that trust in the party’s brand remained a problem, while a shadow minister said it still faced ‘a whole battle on the right’. Kuenssberg also cautioned that Conservatives could not assume voters who switched to Reform would return. [1]

Update

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is expected to tell delegates in Birmingham on Wednesday, the final day of her party’s conference, that British politics faces a “battle of ideas”, the BBC reports. She is expected to argue that the differences between her party and Labour go “to the very core of what kind of country we want to be”. [2]

According to advance excerpts, Badenoch will portray Labour as believing politicians create economic growth and government knows best. She is expected to argue instead that people’s earnings belong to them, not the government, and that growth will be “the central organising principle of the next Conservative government”. [2]

Labour criticised the Conservatives’ record earlier this week, saying the party “completely failed at every turn” to grow the economy during its 14 years in power. [2]

Update

At the close of the Conservative Party’s annual conference in Birmingham, BBC political editor Chris Mason said the party appeared united behind Kemi Badenoch. He reported hearing no dissent about her leadership, contrasting that with talk a year earlier of a possible challenge from Robert Jenrick. [3]