Kemi Badenoch says the Tories ‘are coming again’ as she launches celebration’s native elections marketing campaign with swipe at Nigel Farage and ‘boob hypnotist’ Zack Polanski

Kemi Badenoch today declared the Conservatives ‘are coming back’ as she launched her party’s local elections campaign.

On 7 May, contests will take place for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Senedd, and a slew of English councils.

Both Labour and the Tories are expected to perform poorly in the contests as Britain’s traditional main parties face a growing challenge from Reform UK and the Greens.

But Mrs Badenoch insisted her party was ‘fighting to win everywhere’ and had a ‘new message’ for voters under her leadership.

She pledged to ‘get Britain working again’ as she tore into the Labour Government and also took a swipe at Reform’s Nigel Farage and Green leader Zack Polanski – who was recently revealed to have doubled down on his claim he could enlarge women’s breasts through hypnosis.

At a rally in London, the Tory leader highlighted her pledges to cut the country’s benefits bill, scrap stamp duty, and reduce the interest on student loans.

Amid the Iran crisis and surging oil and gas costs, she pointed to her party’s ‘cheap power plan’ to roll back green energy rules and rely more on fossil fuels.

Mrs Badenoch also reiterated a promise to abolish businesses rates bills of less than £110,000 in a bid to provide relief for pubs, restaurants and high street shops.

Kemi Badenoch declared the Conservatives ‘are coming back’ as she launched her party’s local elections campaign

Mrs Badenoch insisted her party was ‘fighting to win everywhere’ and had a ‘new message’ for voters under her leadership

‘Seven weeks today, people up and down this country are going to be given a choice,’ the Tory leader said.

‘They can choose to vote for one of many parties in Britain telling them what’s wrong with this country, parties who haven’t bothered to do the work to solve any of your problems, parties who are going to put up your council tax.

‘Or they can vote for a party that can actually fix things, they can vote for a new Conservative Party, under new leadership – the only party in British politics with a plan to make life better where you live.’

In a swipe at her rivals, Mrs Badenoch added: ‘Some people want nationalised industry with Nigel Farage.

‘Some people want more benefit spending with Labour. Some people want bigger boobs with Zack Polanski.

‘Fine. We’ve got a better offer. We’re for the people who want jobs and opportunities, who want society to judge people based on their merit.’

Mrs Badenoch said the Tories had ‘learned many lessons’ since their general election defeat in 2024, and said her party’s losses at last year’s council elections were ‘a hangover’ from the record of the previous Conservative government.

‘We are coming back. That is the message – a Conservative vote is going to get you what you want,’ she said.

‘We have learned many lessons. We have acknowledged and apologised for mistakes that were made on tax, on immigration, but we cannot leave our councils and our country in the hands of third-rate people who do not know what they are doing.

‘We are better. We’re going to keep getting better, but we need the trust of the public to show that this time we are going to get it right.

Asked after her speech whether she was prepared for the Tories to lose council seats in May – with her party still polling below the level of support they achieved at the last  general election – Mrs Badenoch said: ‘We are fighting to win everywhere because we can see what is happening when Conservatives disappeared.

‘I’m not here to say that everything we did in government was perfect, but this is a new party under new leadership and we have got a new message for the country.

‘That’s what we’re focused on right now, that’s what we’re going to be taking to the country, that we’re going to get Britain working again.’

Mrs Badenoch was also quizzed about Mr Farage’s suggestion that May’s elections will bring an end to the Conservative Party.

‘I don’t care what Nigel Farage says,’ she replied. ‘He can say whatever he likes – we have free speech in this country.

‘I am here to deliver a message and that is the Conservative Party is coming back.’

Asked about recent Tory defections to Reform, Mrs Badenoch added: ‘We are moving on from defectors and defections. These are drama queens. This is psychodrama.

‘We need to start talking about what is going on with the country.’