TORY leadership contender Kemi Badenoch has suggested she would make major changes to the devolution settlement should she win the role and one day become prime minister.
In a pitch to the Tory conference in Birmingham, the MP vowed to "reprogramme" parts of the British state – which would involve "looking at" everything from the Human Rights Act to devolution itself.
The speech came after Badenoch found herself in a series of media storms, after criticising maternity pay as "excessive" and suggesting minimum wage is harming businesses.
Speaking on Wednesday, Badenoch told the audience that she would deliver a "once-in-a-generation undertaking" if she won the leadership race, pledging a "new blueprint for the great machine of our country".
She continued: "One that goes far beyond our relationship with the EU or the ECHR. A plan that considers every aspect of what the state does … and why it does it. A plan built on the principles and priorities of our nation.
"A plan that looks at our international agreements. At the Human Rights Act, the Equality Act, at judicial review and judicial activism, at the Treasury and the Bank of England, at devolution and quangos, at the civil service and the health service. At how we use power to give power to the British people. We will rewire, reboot, and reprogramme."
Badenoch has come under fire for her comments, with critics accusing her of being "out of touch" with Scotland.
SNP MSP Rona Mackay said: “These comments from one of the frontrunners in the Tory leadership contest are deeply concerning but no surprise given the party's record on devolution.
"Having opposed the Scottish Parliament, the Tories repeatedly undermined democracy during their 14 years in power and continue to advocate for the unpicking of devolution. Time and time again, the Tories have sought to grab powers back from Scotland.
“The SNP will always be committed to giving the people of Scotland a democratic voice and firmly believe that decisions about Scotland are best made in Scotland."
Greens MSP Maggie Chapman said: "From claiming that maternity pay is ‘excessive’ to attacking minority groups, her rhetoric echoes that of Donald Trump, and I believe that she has proven too extreme even for the Conservative Party to make her leader.
“It really shows how out of touch Tories are with the Scottish public that they think attacking devolution is a vote winner. The Scottish Parliament has a majority of MSPs in favour of further devolution and independence. Any attempt to roll back powers now would be catastrophic.”
Chris McEleny, the general secretary of the Alba Party, predicted that the Tories would be "out of power until at least 2029".
He added: "The dogs in the street know that waiting for a Conservative Government to return won’t improve our lives and the new Labour Government are carrying on were the Tories left off.
"We need independence now as an urgent priority and that’s why Alba Party are campaigning to make the 2026 Scottish parliament election the independence vote to free Scotland from Westminster rule.”
Elsewhere in Badenoch's pitch to the party membership, the former business secretary described herself as a “sceptic” of net zero.
She told delegates: “We set a target with no plan on how to meet it, just so politicians could say we were the first country to do so.
“Now we have a net zero strategy addicted to state subsidy, making energy more expensive and hurting our economy.
“I am not a climate-change sceptic but I am a net zero sceptic.
“I did not become an MP to deliver an agenda set by Ed Miliband.”
Badenoch's competitors James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat and the current favourite for the leadership, Robert Jenrick (above), also made pitches to the Tory faithful on Wednesday.
Tugendhat brought up Margaret Thatcher as he said the UK needs a “new Conservative revolution”, while Cleverly opened his speech with an apology to members, saying that the parliamentary wing of the party had let them down.
Later, Jenrick said the Tories need to create a “new Conservative Party” that is “built on the rock of our proudest traditions and noblest values”.
