Kemi Badenoch took aim at defectors in a speech (Image: Getty)

       Kemi Badenoch has hit back after the defection of former Tory party chairman Sir Jake Berry to Reform, saying people who are not real Conservatives should quit and join parties that match their values. The Conservative leader took aim at people who have been “holding us back for a long time” and said that anyone who wants higher taxes and more welfare spending is “welcome” to head for the exit door.

       Mrs Badenoch branded the Conservatives the “only party that wants to live within its means” in a speech less than 24 hours since Sir Jake announced he was joining Reform. She claimed the country would be in a “much worse” state if Reform had been in power during the pandemic and accused Reform leader Nigel Farage of “telling people whatever it is they want to hear”. She said Reform posed as a Right-wing party but claimed it would be an ally to Labour MPs who want to force Sir Keir Starmer to axe the two-child benefit cap.

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       Her speech at the Centre for Social Justice came just days after it was confirmed former Welsh Secretary and Brexit minister David Jones had joined Reform. Former Tory MP Anne Marie Morris has also joined Mr Farage's party, and Andrea Jenkyns - a former stalwart of the Tories' European Research Group - is now Reform's Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire.

       Mrs Badenoch accused defectors of acting as if Britain was a “banana republic” and insisted the Conservatives would come up with a “credible” plan for Government ahead of the next election.

       She said: “[The] Conservative party is the only party that wants to live within its means. And if there are people who want more welfare and higher taxes and more spend, they are very welcome to go to those parties that are offering that.

       “But we are the Conservative party. And if there are people who are not Conservatives, people who have probably been holding us back for a long time, then they should go to other parties that fit in with their values.”

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       Defending the Conservative record in office, she said: “We brought the deficit down every year until the pandemic. The pandemic was not something the Conservatives did – that was a global problem, and I can tell you that if Labour or even Reform had been in charge during the pandemic we would be in a much worse situation than we are now.”

       In the latest sign that the Conservative leader wants to open up clear dividing lines between the Tories and rival parties on welfare spending, she said: “Reform like to pose as a Right-wing party but they don’t seem to understand that asking the taxpayer to fork out ￡100billion a year on health and disability benefits isn’t just completely unaffordable and unjustifiable. It’s immoral.

       “And the Prime Minister has already signalled that he is open to removing the two-child benefit cap. In fact, right at this moment there are probably Labour MPs behind closed doors drawing up plans to force his hand. And they will find allies in Reform.

       “Nigel Farage has committed to remove the cap and he is warning that he is not finished yet on benefits giveaways. Make no mistake – he is Jeremy Corbyn with a pint and a cigarette.

       “On welfare, he shows his true colours – promising these unaffordable giveaways with no plan to fix the system.”

       Kemi Badenoch insists the Tories will be the 'only serious credible alternative' to Labour (Image: Getty)

       In a further swipe at defectors, she said: “This is something which I say again and again – that there are a lot of people who come into politics just to play the game of politics and they will follow polls and defect wherever they can, like they do in banana republics, to wherever they think that they can win. We have to do more than win.

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       “We have to be ready with a plan. This is what Labour got wrong.

       “They had no plan. They were just focused on the election and now they are in Government and they are completely at sea; they cannot deliver anything.

       “All of the people who are not interested in coming up with the proper policy plan and just want to jump ship are welcome to do so because when the time comes at the next general election the public are going to be looking for a serious credible alternative. We are the only serious credible alternative.”

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