Kemi Badenoch Tells Tory Candidates She Is "Deeply Sorry" For Local Elections Losses
3 min read
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “deeply sorry” for her party’s heavy local election losses in a letter to candidates seen by PoliticsHome.
The letter is due to be sent out to all Conservative candidates that stood for election on 1 May, PoliticsHome understands.
“I’m deeply sorry to see so many excellent, hard-working Conservative councillors lose their seats. They didn’t deserve it — and they weren’t the reason we lost”, the Leader of the Opposition wrote.
The Conservatives lost 676 seats at last week's elections in a bruising night for the party. Most of the damage was done by Reform UK, with Nigel Farage's party essentially replacing the Tories in some councils.
The Tories also suffered losses at the hands of the Liberal Democrats.
In her letter to candidates, Badenoch said that the party is under attack from four sides as it tries to recover from its historic defeat at the July general election.
“Not only are Reform and the Greens challenging in former Labour heartlands, but the Liberal Democrats are a threat in the blue wall," she said.
Badenoch, who was chosen last year by Tory members and MPs to succceed Rishi Sunak, said her party was "tarnished" by the actions of previous Conservative governments, adding: "It's not surprising that trust has been eroded."
She added that voters have been particularly “let down” on immigration, saying it was a key reason for the party’s losses to Farage's Reform.
“The rise of Reform is a clear reminder that voters are not ready to come back to us after our time in government. I’ve previously acknowledged areas where we let them down, most notably immigration.”
Looking ahead to the next set of local elections as well as polls in Scotland and Wales in 2026, she said the party “must be smarter and more focused" and that “there is no time to waste”.
She added: “I cannot do this alone. Together with Conservative MPs in Parliament and Conservative councillors, we will energetically fight this disastrous Labour government, and show voters what we stand for and how we can deliver.
“Even in better times, defending the strong 2021 result would have been a tough ask.”
Badenoch sought to stress that the UK Conservatives are "not alone", pointing to recent election losses in Canada and Australia, where centre-right leaders were defeated.
On Tuesday night, Badenoch hosted Tory MPs for drinks to thank them for their work during the local election campaign.
One attendee told PoliticsHome that Badenoch’s speech “got the tone right” and that she told MPs she was “sorry for the situation" facing the party.
On Wednesday evening, Conservative MPs gathered in Parliament for the first meeting of the party's 1922 Committee since last week's local elections, where chairman Nigel Huddleston spoke.
