CONSERVATIVE Party leader Kemi Badenoch has told GB News that members who do not agree with her plan to leave the ECHR cannot stand as candidates at the next general election.

Asked if she realised that many people do not trust the Tories on borders and the economy, she told the Camilla Tominey Show on GB News: “Well, this is what I’m here to do, to show them that we’re the only party that can deliver that stronger economy and those stronger borders that we need. And I recognise that we lost that last election because people lost faith in us.

“My job now is to regain that trust with the public, drawing a line under the mistakes, we made many, I’ve acknowledged them, we’ve apologised, but what I need to do now is show how we solve today’s problems.

“I don’t have a time machine to go back and redo the last Conservative government. What I do have is authentic conservative principles and a plan which is something no other party has.”

She accused Nigel Farage of copying elements of her plan to control immigration: “So first of all, we already announced our indefinite leave to remain plans. What Farage has done is actually copy some of what we did and then get it wrong. And this is what I keep telling people, that we’re the only ones who have credible plans.

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“We have said that indefinite leave to remain has become a fast track to British citizenship. We want to extend it. If you’re claiming benefits, you lose it. If you commit crimes, you lose it. But we need to make sure that the people who are in our country, or people who want to be British, want and love our values and are contributing. We can’t afford to look after the whole world.”

Asked if she was proud of the Conservative record on immigration, she said: “I have always said that immigration during that period was too high, too much pressure on public services, and as much as we tried and tried, we did not stop the boats, we now have a plan to stop the boats.

“Lots of people have been asking whether we will leave the ECHR. I said I will make sure we have a plan, not just say it and then work it out later. That’s how we got into a mess last time. That’s why Labour is in a mess. I’ve announced now that we will leave the ECHR.

“We’ve got 200-page plan that explains what and how, and then we’ve got a borders plan as well that explains the other things we need to do, because leaving the ECHR is not a silver bullet on its own. It’s not going to work. That’s what that borders plan is.”

On how many people will be deported, Badenoch said: “Well, once we’ve got the removals force in place, we should be able to get about 150,000 people a year. I don’t know how that works a day, that would be different days, you’ll have different things happening.

“But the truth is, we are spending billions now on asylum, hotels and all sorts of things to look after those people who should not be here in the first place. So part of the borders plan, which I’ll be talking about more today, is we’re deporting all foreign criminals, whether or not they had a right to stay here. Deporting all foreign criminals. If you arrive illegally, you will be deported within a week, and we need to remove 150,000 a year to make sure we save our country.”

Asked if legal challenges could derail the plan, she said; “This is why I’m doing that work, got the best lawyers in the country working on it. I’ll be talking about it more in my speech, but lawfare is what has stopped us from controlling our borders. Labor tried their one in, one out deal turned out to be 100 in, 1 out, and still they’re dealing with the court, still they’re dealing with the judges. That won’t have happened under us.”

Badenoch said Conservative members who do not agree to leaving the ECHR cannot stand as candidates at the next election: “I was very clear at the Shadow Cabinet, where we agreed completely it was unanimous that we cannot have a party where people do not abide by manifesto commitments. If you do not agree with leaving the ECHR, then you should not and cannot stand as a Conservative candidate at the election.

“They can be in the party, but they cannot stand as MPs. We have lots of members who have lots of views. We don’t remove people for having slightly different views on policy. But if you want to be a Member of Parliament as a Conservative, then you need to understand that leaving the ECHR is a manifesto commitment.

“We’re not making random announcements like Nigel Farage. We have explained why. There’s 200 pages worth of legal analysis that shows that we can do it. It will have some difficulties. We are the honest party. We are explaining what those difficulties are. But if people don’t like that, then, no, they cannot be MPs at the next election.”

On the Tories history on immigration, she said: “That is the history of my predecessors. I have been consistent. Everyone knows what I did when I was in government, when lots of people were attacking me on the gender and trans issues, I stayed firm. I’ve been proved right, and this is the way that I have always conducted myself.

“I am asking them to put their trust in me. The party is under new leadership. I have always been consistent. I have always acted to authentic Conservative principles, and I am changing the Conservative Party so that it is like that.”

She said the pro-Palestine marchers are abusing their right to protest: “The fact that they were marching on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, shows that many of the people going on these marches are actually out to intimidate Jews, and I think that that’s something that should be stopped.

“We have a right to protest. We have a right to protest in this country, but people are abusing those rights. Rights come with responsibilities. And what I would say to what the government has announced is what took you so long, every time we try to do these things in government, they opposed it.”

She added: “It was strongly condemned by previous leaders. That was not something that I could control. I always said we needed to stop that climate of intimidation and fear. What we saw were a lot of people out to get Jews. That is something that should not be happening in this country.

“Jews have always come to the UK for sanctuary. The fact that people are attacking them, killing them on our soil is an abomination. This must continue to be a safe country for Jews. I cannot fix what previous leaders did.

“I know that some things were tried and I know that there were additional things brought into place to crack down on protests, extinction, rebellion. Protests, for example, were part of some of the things that we did. There are many people who are protesting well beyond what they need to do and actually stopping other people from going about their daily lives. We’ve got to stop that.”

Asked if the Prime Minister had blood on his hands, she said: “The fact that there are people in the Jewish community who are saying that just goes to show how much he has let them down. I wouldn’t use that language, but I would say that he has not done anything near enough to make Jews feel safe in this country.

“Recognising Palestine when Hamas still had hostages was completely wrong. I said that at the time, I still believe that it gave them a win. I think that a lot of the rhetoric and activity and action which the Labour government has done banning licenses for us to send equipment to Israel, I think all of those things were sending a signal that encouraged other people, made them feel emboldened to continue intimidating Jews.

“And now this week, what we saw was an extreme example of that. I met members of that congregation. People were in the room. They burst into tears. Some of them couldn’t even tell me what had happened. There were children. There were old men pushing against the door, worried that they were about to die.”

On asking her colleagues to hold their nerve over the party’s poll numbers, Badenoch said: “That is something that I have said again and again. We have to hold our nerve, because we’re going to have to deal with tough times before we come back. Oppositions previously have been in opposition for 14, 13, 18 years. We’re going to do this in four years. It’s going to be very bumpy, but we will do it.”

Asked if she can be become Prime Minister, she said: “Yes, and the polling will change.

“This is the fifth conference – but remember we have been spending the time making sure that we have robust policies and not just announcing things that are going to collapse the minute anyone asks a question. That’s what happens with Reform.

“We’ve just announced some of the toughest policies. I told people when I was elected that I’m going to do this the proper way. We’re going to take our time, we’re not going to rush things out, because people won’t believe us. We’ve had too many leaders of all parties rushing out things that they cannot deliver. What I say I can do, I will do, because I’ve done my homework.”

Asked if her borders plan was sending a signal to Nigel Farage that the Conservatives will prop up a Reform UK government, she said: “No, not at all. This is me saying that the Conservative Party is the only party that can deliver a stronger economy and stronger borders. Nigel Farage wants to spend loads and loads of money on welfare.

“You look at the plans he’s talked about, our economy will be on fire if he gets in. None of it makes sense.

“We are the only people who have credible and competent plans, and that is what I’m showing the public. This is not about him. This is about your viewers, your listeners. Read our plans, look at it. Who is it that can actually deliver, they’ve never been in government, Reform. We’ve seen what Labour are doing.

“They had 14 years to prepare for government. They still got in and they’ve made a mess. Can you imagine what it would be like with people who’ve never been in government before? They’ll be learning on the job. They won’t be able to deliver, and our country will be in a much worse place. Only the Conservative Party can deliver both the competency, and the bravery to deal with these tough decisions.”