Kemi Badenoch is plotting a long-term plan to turn rural voters against Labour, The London Economic can exclusively reveal.
Badenoch, whose popularity among Tory members has halved in less than two months, is working with CCHQ to develop a new strategy to bring back rural voters to the Conservatives after party figures accused Labour of “turning their backs on farmers”.
Officials say Kemi Badenoch has told them that the Tories need to have a “balanced approach” between the negative environmental impact of their policies and the financial benefit.
The Tory leader has shared her politically motivated plans with some members to improve public transport and increase investment in rural communities to win them back to her party in the next general election. She has also continued the commitment to reverse Labour’s inheritance tax on farms.
A pledge to fix potholes with a specific focus on the countryside is also being considered.
Former Tory MP Nicola Richards has urged Badenoch to focus on rural seats after the election defeat, saying: “There was always a concern since the 2019 election that the party lost focus on the more rural seats, which the Lib Dems and even Labour have since lapped up. It falls to Kemi to work out what the Conservative Party stands for, and I hope, work out how to appeal to a broader spectrum of voters.”
Although the Conservatives claim that the government’s inheritance tax on farms “threatens” Britain’s food security and will lead to higher food prices, the Treasury predicts fewer than 500 farms a year will be affected.
Many Labour figures have defended their decision, pointing out that the standard rate of inheritance tax is 40 per cent, which is 20 per cent higher than the rate which will be put on farms from April 2026.
Kemi Badenoch faced backlash earlier this month after telling shadow cabinet members not to expect any major policy announcements for the next two years. Instead, she promised to regain voters’ trust and apologised for her party’s record in government.
“The British public kicked Conservatives out because we got things wrong. They were right,” the leader admitted last night.
She added: “We had not delivered on things we said we would do. We’d let them down and I hate letting people down.”
However, these new tactics haven’t proved helpful for her approval rating among Tory members. A new poll by Conservative Home shows her rating has more than halved since December, from +70 to +32.
The shadow chancellor and former Tory leadership contender, Mel Stride, has taken her top spot position with +57.9, followed by Robert Jenrick (+51).
A Tory source said: “Kemi Badenoch is determined to get the party back into government and she has ideas that may resonate with the public but she needs to let the people know about them sooner rather than later.”
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