Kemi Badenoch plays down prospect of leadership coup after Tory reshuffle
The Tory leader said she was not 'paying any attention' to reports that backbenchers are already plotting to oust her, less than a year after she was elected.
The New Statesman reported that many Tory MPs who backed Mrs Badenoch in the leadership contest have privately turned on her, and believe her core team of advisers are 'lightweights and sycophants'.
Faltering Conservatives may seek to trigger a vote of confidence in their leader in November, once a grace period protecting her from such a move ends, the magazine said.
The claims came to light a day after Mrs Badenoch reshuffled the senior Tory ranks, appointing former minister Sir James Cleverly as her shadow housing secretary.
Asked about suggestions that Tory MPs were already plotting a coup, Mrs Badenoch told the PA news agency: 'I would say that if nobody put their name to it, then I'm not paying any attention to it.
'People have been saying that about every single leader, and it's usually the same one or two people who say it about every single leader.'
Speaking during a visit to a housing development in north-west London alongside Sir James, Mrs Badenoch added: 'I've been elected to get the Conservative Party back on track, and I'm very focused on doing that.
'We lost to a historic defeat last year for many reasons, not least of all, house building, not doing as well as it could have done.'
The New Statesman said Mrs Badenoch had criticised her predecessor Rishi Sunak for making an early exit from D-Day commemorations in France during the 2024 general election campaign, and that she believed the gaffe was central to the party's loss.
The magazine also claimed to have seen a notebook containing her handwriting, which included affirming phrases like 'You are a serious person who does big things', and suggesting the Tory leader was 'the standard bearer of the right'.
Mrs Badenoch's team denied that she had lost any such notebook.
In his first full day in the job, shadow housing secretary Sir James accused the Prime Minister of being more interested in finding accommodation for asylum seekers than 'hard-working young people'.
He said he was 'furious' when the Prime Minister 'blithely' said there are 'plenty of houses' around the UK for asylum seekers.
Sir Keir Starmer insisted there was 'lots of housing available' to accommodate rising numbers of homeless people and asylum seekers when he was questioned by senior MPs earlier this week.
Sir James told Times Radio: 'I was furious, I genuinely couldn't believe he said this, when the Prime Minister was at the Liaison Committee and blithely said, 'Oh, there are plenty of houses around the UK for asylum seekers'.'
Sir James also said he understands the frustrations of local people when asked about demonstrations outside hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers.
There has been a series of protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, since an asylum seeker was charged with sexual assault.
His new role makes him the opposition counterpart to Angela Rayner in her housing, communities and local government brief, but not in her deputy prime minister post.
Ms Rayner said on Tuesday that immigration was among issues having a 'profound impact on society' as she updated the Cabinet on her work on social cohesion.
Sir James was also asked for his view on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) after Mrs Badenoch launched a review and said she was 'increasingly of the view' that the UK should withdraw.
He would not say whether he agreed as he toured broadcast studios on Wednesday morning.
Mrs Badenoch told broadcasters: 'James and I have always had the same position on the ECHR, and that is that if we need to leave, then we should leave, but it's not a silver bullet.
'That is why we have a commission on this very issue, which will be reporting at party conference.
'So I wouldn't bring someone into the shadow cabinet if they didn't agree with me.'
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