TORY leadership contender Kemi Badenoch has said “Doctor Who” will not make her “shut up” as she re-ignited a row with actor David Tennant.
The former minister officially launched her campaign on Monday morning, with a jibe at the Paisley-born star.
It resurrects a row from earlier this year when Tennant, who played the Doctor between 2005 and 2010, told the British LGBT Awards ceremony that he wished Badenoch would “shut up” as he collected a prize for his support for the transgender community.
A clip teasing her speech opens with Tennant’s comments followed by Badenoch saying: “No, I will not shut up.
Tomorrow, I launch my @renewal2030 campaign to be the next leader of our great Conservative Party. Join me at 11.00am, here on X! pic.twitter.com/yAalIDVM9M
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) September 1, 2024
“When you have that type of cultural establishment trying to keep Conservatives down, you need someone like me who’s not afraid of Doctor Who or whoever, and who’s going to take the fight to them and not let them try and keep us down. That’s not going to happen with me.”
She was panned on Twitter/X for the video, with critics saying it made her campaign seem trivial.
William Atkinson, the deputy editor of Tory house website ConservativeHome, said: "I find it remarkable that Badenoch is leaning into the 'I spent the election in a Twitter spat with Doctor Who' angle.
"A common concern MPs have about her is that she will spend the next five years rowing with people more popular than herself, to no obvious political benefit."
Journalist and pundit Ash Sarkar added: "Do you understand how embarrassing it is for someone who wants to be the next prime minister leading with how they've got beef with the guy from Doctor Who?"
Badenoch is the bookies’ favourite in the battle to replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the Conservative Party.
In a speech setting out her stall, the shadow communities secretary will argue the Tories “can’t just sit around pointing out how terrible Labour are – fun as it is”.
She said: “The British people are yearning for something better and this Labour government is not it.
“They have no ideas. At best they are re-announcing things we have already done.
“At their worst they are clueless, irresponsible and dishonest: trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the British public about the state of the UK finances, placing political donors into civil service jobs and pretending they had no plans to cut pensioner benefits before the election – and now doing so to cover the cost of pay rises for the unions with no promise of reform.”
Elsewhere, former home secretary James Cleverly (below) will say the Tories “must get our act together”.
In a speech due just after midday, the MP will say his party must come up with solutions to “an unstable world, global migration and a crisis of confidence in capitalism”.
He will say: “That means being honest and realistic about the role of the state. About what it should and can do, and what it should not and cannot.
"The state should focus on doing fewer things very well, not everything badly.
“We accept that the state has a primary duty to protect its people and its borders. But Conservatives must be honest about the trade-offs in doing these things properly.”
He will argue for a “family-first society” rather than looking to the state as the first port of call when a problem arises.
