As she passes the one-hundred–day mark since becoming leader of the Conservative Party, Tory frontbenchers have said that Kemi Badenoch has until May 2026 to improve the Conservatives’ position in the polls or face pressure to step down. The former business secretary inherited a demoralised and divided party in November 2024—down to 121 MPs—after suffering an overwhelming election defeat in July last year. According to shadow ministers, the first true test of Badenoch’s leadership will be the party’s performance in local and devolved elections next year. “If we do really badly in the Scottish and Welsh elections, then she will be at serious risk”, said one frontbencher.
With Badenoch showing few signs of turning things around for the better, there is not yet open panic—even for a party that has a habit of removing underperforming leaders. Indeed, it is less likely, after forcing Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and Liz Truss from the helm in the past six years, that another—as the Financial Times put it—regicide will occur. “We would look ridiculous to do it again”, said one Tory figure. However, there are definitely concerns, with some focusing on the party machine, her inner circle, and even Badenoch herself. A common complaint is that she views media duties as a chore, often sending shadow cabinet members in her place. She “absolutely hates doing media” and “does not see it as an integral part of her job”, according to one former advisor. “We could get away with that in government but in opposition you have to turn up to the opening of an envelope.” Some senior Conservatives accuse Badenoch of neglecting other basics of her job, particularly fundraising dinners and constituency events. “She thinks she can do the job differently, but the fact is, 90% of it is graft”, said one Tory MP. “She wants to be an architect, but being leader of the opposition is more like being a bricklayer.” Amid discontent with her current leadership, she has also been urged to overhaul her approach to Prime Minister’s Questions and to bring in more experienced advisers who are seasoned in the difficult task of landing political blows.
Others focus on strategy, such as whether the Tory leader will be able to come up with policies that are strong enough to fend off the threat from the right. The Conservatives have slid down in poll ratings since she took charge, going from 26% (ahead of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK) to a meagre 22% (third place after Labour and Reform). Badenoch has deliberately avoided specific policy positions, both during the leadership contest and in her first one-hundred days as leader, claiming the party was focusing on its “principles” instead. Yet, so far, she has not shied away from criticising the policies of previous Tory governments. In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said that her party had “let people down” in the area of migration, which rose to a record high of 906,000 during the Conservatives’ time in government. In the last few weeks, Badenoch unveiled her first major policy, a crackdown on immigrants’ right to remain in the UK, which was seen by many as a response to Reform UK topping the polls for the first time.
Many Conservative MPs are worried about the rise of the right-wing party, which takes a hard line on immigration. When asked if it was a response to the rising popularity of Reform, she said that her party “needed to rebuild trust with the public” and that it was natural for the public to look to “the protest party”. The Tory leader said that it now made sense for the Conservatives to set out an alternative approach to immigration because the government has just brought forward a new immigration bill. In what will be an amendment to the bill, Kemi Badenoch announced that immigrants on work visas who claim benefits or social housing, or have a criminal record, will be barred from settling indefinitely in the UK, with the period before immigrants can make an indefinite leave to remain application—which paves the way for British citizenship—being extended from five to ten years. “Our country is not a dormitory, it’s our home”, she said. “The right to citizenship and permanent residency should only go to those who have demonstrated a real commitment to the UK.”
Whether this will be enough to dampen the appeal of Reform for Conservative voters dissatisfied with the current state of the party remains to be seen. “Renewal is a long-term project, and there will be bumps in the road with very difficult local elections in May, but Kemi has a mandate to renew our party from top to bottom to start to win back the trust of the British people after our historic defeat”, the Conservative Party has said.