Kemi Badenoch has united the Tories, but analysts warn Scotland and Reform still threaten her road back to power

From the Newshound archive · first published 11 October 2026.

Badenoch left the Conservative party conference in Birmingham having achieved something her predecessors could not: internal peace, with one MP marvelling that the party had "never had so little fighting — probably ever." Commentators across the political spectrum now credit her with rebuilding the philosophical foundations of the party, though they warn the polls show little advance yet. A party source told her team: "If you don't sort the foundations, what you build is insubstantial and weak."

The conference produced an unlikely talking point — a Bayeux-style tapestry so popular that someone offered Badenoch £100,000 for it; her reply was: 'That's the opening bid.'

Analysts identify three obstacles still blocking her path: neutralising Reform, taking on a Labour Party reborn under Andy Burnham, and connecting with Scottish voters.