Kemi Badenoch has declined repeated opportunities to criticise or distance herself from a controversial tweet by the Conservative Party Chairman, which appeared to draw a parallel between Reform UK and the Nazis.
In an interview with GB News today, the Conservative Party leader dismissed concerns over the post by Kevin Hollinrake, insisting it was "made in jest" and accused critics of obsessing over "silly things like tweets" when the country faces more serious challenges.
The row began after Mr Hollinrake shared a link to a Wikipedia page detailing the historical use of gold insignia, a post widely interpreted as likening Reform’s branding to Nazi uniforms.
The suggestion drew criticism from Conservative MP and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who called the comparison "inappropriate".
Asked directly whether she believed Reform were akin to the Nazis, Mrs Badenoch rejected the premise.
"He didn’t actually say anything at all", she insisted. "He just put a link to a Wikipedia page… Reform has got much bigger problems."
She then pointed to the recent conviction of Reform’s former Welsh leader for spying for Russia, arguing that it was "a much bigger deal than a tweet".
Pressed again on whether the tweet was a mistake, Mrs Badenoch held her ground.
Kemi Badenoch refused to apologise for Tory Chairman Kevin Hollinrake's remarks about Reform UK | GB NEWS"I’m not going to apologise for a tweet that was made in jest", she said. Westminster, she argued, spends too much time on social-media storms when voters are more concerned about the forthcoming Budget.
"People can make jokes on Twitter. That’s fine", she said.
Later in the interview, Mrs Badenoch attacked the Employment Rights Bill, claiming it would cost businesses £5billion a year and was already contributing to rising unemployment.
She said the bill contained "lots of terrible measures" and warned it would "kill more jobs".
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The Conservative Party leader sat down with GB News Political Correspondent Olivia Utley
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On the minimum wage, Mrs Badenoch refused to endorse Labour’s planned increase, saying many firms could not afford higher salary floors.
"You can put the minimum wage to £100 an hour. If businesses can’t afford it, then no one gets jobs", she said, stressing that young people were facing the lowest graduate recruitment levels "we’ve ever had".
The Tory leader also renewed calls for a tougher welfare regime, saying "a lot of people are exploiting the system", and pointing to social-media influencers advising followers on how to avoid work.
She backed a return to in-person assessments and argued that some people with "low-level health conditions" would benefit from employment.
Mrs Badenoch told GB News that Labour is 'leaving a huge mess' for the Tories to clean up
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Responding to a recent poll suggesting the Conservatives could be reduced to just 14 seats at the next election, Mrs Badenoch dismissed the findings as outdated.
Asked directly what she herself had got wrong in her first months as Leader of the Opposition, Badenoch declined to identify any personal mistakes.
Instead, she reiterated that the party "made mistakes" before losing last year’s general election and shifted focus to what she described as Labour’s mounting problems.
The public, she argued, would eventually return to the Conservatives because Labour was "leaving a huge mess to clean up" and only her party had the experience to fix it.
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