Kemi Badenoch accuses Keir Starmer of 'taking Britain backwards' as he deepens ties with European leaders: 'It worries me!'

As Sir Keir flies to Paris to meet with European leaders in support of Ukraine, Mrs Badenoch told the People's Channel: "Let's do what we can to make sure we maintain a good relationship with the countries that are next to us, in Europe most of all. But that doesn't mean following all their rules and being run by them.

"That was the reason why we left the European Union, and what this shows, if it is true, is that Keir Starmer has got no ideas for what to do with the country, and so he's just taking us backwards. No vision for the future, no economic plan."

She added: "I'm on a high street today, letting them know that we back business. What's Labour doing? Increasing business rates. They wouldn't even let the Labour MPs turn up in the pubs.

"He's got no economic plan, he's got no defence plan, got no foreign policy plan. That's what worries me. What he's discussing with them in terms of going back into the EU is the least of our problems if he continues to damage our economy."

Pressed by host Miriam Cates on whether she would "look again" at some of the laws that we "still have" from the EU, Mrs Badenoch said: "As you all know, I was a former Trade Secretary, and the deal making continues, situations change. You need new laws, you need to remove old laws. We need to start doing at what is in our national interest.

"Some of those laws we kept with things that we put in place, there are others which we need to remove. We need to explain why, we need to show what needs to be done as an alternative."

She continued: "But the sunset clause for which we used in order to get those laws off the books expires this year. Labour has not taken anything off the books. We took about 80 per cent of those laws out of the UK statute book.

"I removed the supremacy of the European Court of Justice, I'm very proud of that, but there is always more to do. That's why Government, it never finishes its job. Right now Labour is not even starting."

Discussing the UK's ongoing support for Ukraine ahead of Sir Keir's meeting in Paris, Mrs Badenoch said continuing to fund the nation is the "right thing to do".

The Tory leader explained: "It is absolutely the right thing to do. Let's be honest, the world is changing and it's becoming increasingly dangerous. If Russia wins this war in Ukraine, it's not going to stop there. It's going to keep going.

"We need to make sure that we do everything to project strength, and what's been happening over many decades is that we've been spending the peace dividend from the Cold War, from World War Two, those days are over. Let's start spending more on our defence.

"Countries that look strong, that speak softly, perhaps, but carry a big stick will be in a better place. That's what I want UK policy to be. Right now, I'm not quite sure what Keir Starmer thinks."

Grilled by Miriam on the €190billion already sent to Ukraine, Mrs Badenoch was asked if the UK would have better benefited from "negotiation" instead.

Disagreeing with Miriam, Mrs Badenoch responded: "This is an existential battle. Who are our enemies? Russia, which try to kill people on UK soil. We can't just say let them do whatever they like, we'll keep our money, because they will keep getting stronger, we'll get weaker, and then we won't be in a position to do anything. So our support for Ukraine, certainly on the Conservative side, is at 100 per cent."

Reflecting on the increasing poll rates for the Tories, which now places them above Labour, Mrs Badenoch assured voters that there is "a lot more to come" from her policies.

She concluded: "I just want people to know that 18 months ago, we had a historic defeat for my party. I was elected to fix that, and I hope that people can see that I'm acknowledging the mistakes we made.

"I'm not here to say everything we did was perfect, but we have a new plan, we have new policies. We have junked some of the bad things that we did, like our plans for net zero. We said we're going to leave the ECHR, it's the only way to make sure we can control our borders, and there is a lot more to come.

"We want to abolish stamp duty, we want to abolish business rates for high streets, that's what's going to help get the country growing. And if polls are reflecting that, that's good. There's still a long way to go, I'm not complacent, but the general election is not tomorrow.

"We've still got another three years of Labour. We know they're going to leave a big mess, and there is only one party that has always cleaned up Labour's mess and that's the Conservative Party."

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