Joint co-chair of Tories says that there will be 'a period of reflection'

Conservatives believe in low taxes and the party under Kemi Badenoch will develop new policies based around such core principles, the new Joint Chair has said.

Nigel Huddleston said on GB News: “We've got a period of reflection to do and Kemi was very clear…her whole election campaign was called Renewal 2030, it wasn't Kemi for leader.

“It is about renewing the party, uniting the party, and making sure that we hold this government to account and therefore be in a position to win as many seats as possible come the next election and, of course, local elections coming up.

“And in order to do that, we do need a fresh look. We took a beating at the last general election. We need to properly reflect and understand why, and then develop policies based on those core principles that unite us.

“That was a theme that Kemi had throughout the campaign. It's one of the many reasons why so many people voted for her, because we do need to focus around those principles that unite us, which is very different I think [to what] you saw in the Budget last week.

“In particular, we believe in low taxes, we believe in personal responsibility, we believe in efficiency and, where possible, small government.

“This is in stark contrast to the opposition and we're up for the fight now. We will unite around the new leader, because the whole future of the country is at stake, and therefore we take that responsibility to be an effective opposition very seriously indeed.”

He added: “We are a much smaller party than we were, but we've got a lot of fresh, new talent as well. And if you look at, for example, some of the maiden speeches from some of our new colleagues. They're outstanding. They're incredibly capable individuals.

“They're bringing incredible experience from the public and private sector into Parliament..the key thing is we will unite around renewal. We will unite around Kemi because we have to do that.

“One of the messages I got loud and clear from the electorate at the last General Election, it was the disunity that annoyed people. It was the fact that we were fighting amongst ourselves, that people didn't understand what we stood for.

“Those are all things that Kemi has taken on board, and this new message from the new opposition will be very clear indeed, and I'm excited about it.”