Key Points
- Kemi Badenoch says the Conservatives are facing the “new reality” of multi-party politics as local election results loom.
- She says the old era of Tory and Labour national dominance is over.
- Badenoch insists she is leading a “new party” under new leadership.
- She says the Conservatives will not do deals with Reform UK at national or local level.
- She claims the party has been strengthened by difficult figures leaving for Reform UK.
- Badenoch says the Conservatives still know how to govern and have a plan to fix councils and reduce costs.
- Tory peer and polling expert Lord Hayward predicts the Conservatives could lose 600 seats.
- Badenoch hopes for gains in places such as Wandsworth, which she describes as a former flagship Conservative council.
- A YouGov poll last month put Badenoch on a net favourability of -21, ahead of Nigel Farage on -38 and Sir Keir Starmer on -45.
LONDON (Britain Today News) May 6, 2025 – Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said the Tories are adapting to a new political landscape in which Britain is no longer shaped by a simple two-party contest, as she braces for potentially difficult local election results.
Has the two-party era ended?
Badenoch said the Conservatives are now operating in what she described as a multi-party era, arguing that the old pattern of Tory and Labour dominance has changed for good. She said,
“What we’re going to see on Friday is what multi-party politics looks like. The two-party era has moved into a multi-party era.”
The Conservative leader used the moment to present her party as a reformed organisation under new leadership. She said the Conservatives are “a new party” and argued that the party had learned from past mistakes. In her view, the political system has become more fragmented, and that change will shape the local election results.
Badenoch also linked the shift to public disillusionment with Labour, saying the current government had become unpopular quickly after winning a landslide less than two years ago. She said,
“What’s astonishing is that a Labour government that came in less than two years ago on a landslide has become so unpopular.”
Why is Badenoch targeting Reform UK?
Badenoch made clear that Reform UK is now a major force in her calculations, both because of its polling performance and because of its impact on Conservative support. She said Nigel Farage’s party has benefited from people who once caused problems inside the Conservatives moving across.
She added that some of the figures who created difficulties inside her party had “actually gone to Reform.” In her words,
“many of the people who were causing problems in the Conservative Party have actually gone to Reform.”
That message was part warning, part defence of her current team.
She also argued that the Conservatives remain the only party with practical governing experience. Badenoch said,
“The people who know how to govern, who know how to run things, are Conservatives.”
She acknowledged that Conservative rule was not perfect, but said the party now understands what went wrong and has a plan to fix it.
Will the Conservatives work with Reform?
Badenoch strongly ruled out any electoral or governing arrangement with Reform UK, either nationally or in local councils. She said,
Her reasoning was that many people in Reform were previously expelled from or associated with the Conservatives and had helped cause internal problems. She said,
“I don’t want to see coalitions with Reform at local councils, because these are the people who we kicked out of the Conservative Party.”
She added that many of them were
That position also appeared aimed at reassuring Conservative voters who may be tempted by Reform’s rise. Badenoch’s message was that the Conservatives should be seen as the serious alternative, not as a party ready to depend on rivals.
What are the Conservatives expecting?
The local elections are widely being viewed as a difficult test for the Conservatives, with one Tory polling expert predicting losses of about 600 seats. That forecast reflects the scale of the challenge facing Badenoch as the party tries to defend its position across England and parts of the devolved elections.
Despite that warning, Badenoch said the party is still fighting for gains in specific areas, including Wandsworth in south London. She described Wandsworth as a former flagship Conservative council and said she would love to see it “go blue again.” She also said there are “no safe seats” in the new political climate.
Badenoch said the Conservatives are contesting many councils “very competitively” and are not assuming anything in advance. Her language suggested a party trying to project confidence while preparing for the possibility of setbacks.
How does Badenoch rate against rivals?
Badenoch pointed to polling that shows her personal standing is better than that of Nigel Farage and Sir Keir Starmer, even though the Conservative Party remains behind Reform in national voting intention surveys. A YouGov poll last month gave her a net favourability rating of -21, compared with -38 for Farage and -45 for Starmer.
That relative advantage on personal approval did not stop her from rejecting the idea that she needs a reshuffle. She said she had “a good team” and described her colleagues as a “strong, united team.” She also praised Conservative councillors and MPs working with her.
Her argument was that organisational unity matters as much as polling momentum. By stressing the stability of her top team, Badenoch appeared keen to show that the party is not in panic mode ahead of the results.
What did Badenoch say about councils?
Badenoch used council policy to underline what she says distinguishes the Conservatives from rival parties. She said the party wants to keep council tax as low as possible while improving services. She also said Conservatives want cheap power in homes, lower business costs and the abolition of business rates.
Those pledges were framed as part of a wider argument that the Conservatives still have the clearest policy offer. Badenoch said the party has “a clear plan for councils” and described the Conservatives as
“the only party that has a plan for this country.”
Her remarks were designed to turn the conversation away from defensive talk about losses and towards competence in government.
The broader political context is that the Conservatives are attempting to reset their image after major defeats and growing pressure from Reform UK. Badenoch’s comments suggest she wants voters to see the party as reinvented rather than weakened.
Why does this matter now?
The statement comes just before local election results that may shape the mood inside the Conservative Party. Badenoch’s insistence that politics has entered a multi-party phase signals that she believes the old electoral map has already broken apart.
That shift creates pressure not only from Labour, but also from Reform UK, which has been rising in the polls for more than a year. Badenoch’s refusal to entertain any alliance with Reform shows she wants to draw a hard line between the two parties.
It also puts the Conservatives on notice that they cannot rely on the old two-party logic to recover. Instead, Badenoch is trying to present the party as disciplined, modernised and still capable of governing.
