Kemi Badenoch has departed to the US in an attempt to meet Donald Trump, LBC is reporting.
The president-elect has met with a host of political leaders as he prepares to take office in January, including Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Sir Keir Starmer, who joined him for dinner in Trump Tower.
The newly-appointed head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk has also been keeping close tabs on the political situation in the UK and has reportedly been mulling a $100 million donation to the Reform UK Party in a bid to make Nigel Farage prime minister.
Badenoch will seek to put the Conservative Party back on the map with a string of meetings with right-wing parties on Capitol Hill.
She has jetted off to Washington for a “fact-finding mission” to delve into the heart of the winning Republican campaign, although it is unclear whether she will actually meet any Republicans.
A Conservative Party source told LBC that she will channel the spirit of Margaret Thatcher with a keynote speech at the International Democracy Union – an centre-right alliance set up by the former PM in the 1980s.
They said: “There are strong links between the Conservative Party and the Republican Party… and as the new Conservative leader Kemi is going to bolster relationships with centre right parties across the world.”
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