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Kemi Badenoch has warned the Conservative Party could cease to exist if her opponent Robert Jenrick wins the Tory leadership contest.
The former business secretary has said the Tories have “one chance” to pick the right candidate to succeed Rishi Sunak, adding that the rise of Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats is “existential” for the party.
Addressing Tories who do not support either of the right-wingers vying for the leadership, Ms Badenoch voiced concern at speculation they could hold another contest before the next election.
“If we get this wrong, there’s not going to be a party. There’s no second chance. We have one chance to get this right,” she said.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph on the day ballots were posted out to party members, she added: “This endless tossing out leaders as if they’re just disposable has been one of the things that has damaged the party brand.
“People want to see some stability and some certainty. This is not the time for more psychodrama. We need to get serious and I think members are very serious about wanting to pick a leader for the long term.”
And, addressing the threat of Nigel Farage’s Reform and the resurgent Lib Dems, she said: “We are having our lunch eaten by everybody.
“If we lose a chunk of our party to the Lib Dems, they could become the opposition. So in the country, the Reform vote is critical for us to win back, but in Parliament the Lib Dems also pose a significant threat.”
In the interview, Ms Badenoch launched a series of attacks on Mr Jenrick, painting him as inconsistent and lacking conviction. He has faced questions in the contest for his transition from a Remain-backing moderate to a Leave-supporting right-winger.
And Ms Badenoch, seen as the front-runner as members vote in the final round of the contest, warned Mr Jenrick would drag Britain back into an era of Brexit-style chaos.
He has promised, if elected leader and then prime minister, to pull Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights, a topic which has split the Conservative Party.
And, attacking his attempts to portray it as a Leave/Remain issue, Ms Badenoch said: “Trying to recreate the referendum is not something people want to hear right now.”
Her intervention came days after Britain’s top pollster warned neither of the leadership contenders are able to bring the Conservatives back to power.
In an exclusive article for The Independent, Professor Sir John Curtice said the pair lack “an adequate understanding of why their party suffered its worst ever electoral result in July”, meaning they are unlikely to “take the steps needed for their party to regain voters’ trust”.
Ms Badenoch and Ms Jenrick will take part in the first televised debate of the contest on GB News on Thursday. In a sign he feels he has ground to make up on his rival, Mr Jenrick has repeatedly called for more head to head debates, offering to go against Ms Badenoch “anywhere, any place, any time”.
It has led to allegations Ms Badenoch is dodging scrutiny, heightened on Tuesday after Liz Truss’ think tank Popular Conservatism publicly shamed her for failing to answer 12 questions it sent to her and Mr Jenrick.
But Ms Badenoch said claims she is running scared are “hilarious”. She told The Telegraph: “People say, ‘Kemi crosses the road to have a fight,’ and, ‘Oh, Kemi is running scared.’ They can’t both be true. It just feels like there’s a lot of mud being thrown at me, and I think people should ask why all the mud is being thrown in one direction.”
Shadow business minister Ms Badenoch and ex-immigration minister Mr Jenrick are the final two candidates after moderate contender James Cleverly was knocked out of the contest in a shock ballot of MPs last week.
They will now try to win the support of as many members as possible until voting closes at the end of October. The next leader of the opposition will be announced on November 2.
