Conservative leader says Britain is in a battle for its soul as she rejects Labour’s proposed Brexit reset

Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has launched a strong attack on Nigel Farage, his Reform UK party and the Labour government, urging Reform voters to return to the Conservative Party.

Badenoch made the remarks on Wednesday in her keynote conference speech, declaring that Britain is facing a “battle for the soul of the nation.”

The opposition leader insisted that the Conservative Party remains the only political force capable of understanding the challenges facing Britain and putting the country back on the right path.

“We are the only party that understands what has gone wrong in Britain and knows how to put it right,” Badenoch said.

She also criticised Labour’s suggestion of reopening negotiations over Brexit, describing the proposal as “a terrible idea.”

Badenoch appealed directly to voters who had switched their allegiance to Reform UK, telling them to “come back home” to the Conservative Party.

She argued that Reform voters “deserve better” than Farage and other senior figures in the party, while also criticising what she described as concerns surrounding their financial affairs.

“We are not uniting with that,” she said, in an apparent rejection of any prospect of an alliance between the Conservatives and Reform UK.

Her comments come as new polling threatens to overshadow her conference speech.

A More in Common poll showed support for the Conservative Party falling by one percentage point to 21 per cent, while Reform UK rose to 24 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, remained at the top of the poll after gaining two percentage points to reach 29 per cent.

The figures put Labour five points ahead of Reform UK, while the Conservatives remain a further three points behind Reform.

The latest figures are likely to intensify pressure on Badenoch as she seeks to rebuild Conservative support and win back voters who have moved to Reform UK.

Her speech signals a clear attempt by the Conservative leader to draw a political dividing line between her party and Farage’s Reform UK, while positioning the Conservatives as the alternative to the Labour government.