EXCLUSIVE Confident Kemi says: 'We can beat the SNP in constituencies across the country... anything can happen'
The UK Tory leader suggested the party would take the fight to the Nationalists at the 2026 parliamentary vote, adding: 'Anything can happen.'
In an interview with The Mail, Ms Badenoch said the Scottish Conservatives - led by her colleague Russell Findlay - could make gains beyond their traditional supporter base in the North East and in the Scottish Borders.
It comes as in a speech to the party's conference at Murrayfield, Edinburgh, on Saturday Mr Findlay laid bare his ambitious plans to oust First Minister John Swinney from his Perthshire North constituency - as well as SNP MSPs in Ayr and Moray.
Last night, Ms Badenoch said the party's position on repealing Labour 's 'family farm tax', the energy profits levy and its strong position on the ' gender debate' offered a clear alternative to voters.
The UK leader - who replaced Rishi Sunak in November - said: 'I think there's very, very clear blue water between us and the SNP between us and Labour...the Conservative Party is very clear on what its offer is.'
Such optimism was palpable in her Friday speech to conference delegates on Friday, during which she said the party needed to bring about the SNP's 'electoral defeat'.
Asked if she truly believed the Scottish Conservatives were able to beat the SNP in the Holyrood election, she said: 'Yes, anything can happen'.
She continued: 'People look at what's happening in a particular moment, and assume it's always going to be like that.
'But we're not going to beat them by joining with them. We're going to beat them by having a better offer.'
Such fighting talk comes despite a Survation poll in May suggesting the Tories are likely to return fewer MSPs than Nigel Farage's Reform party at the Holyrood vote next year.
According to projections from Professor Sir John Curtice the SNP would return 58 seats and the Conservatives fewer than half their current group, returning 13 MSPs compared to its current crop of 30.
Reform, meanwhile, would move into second place as the main opposition party on 21 seats.
A recent litmus test of Tory support, the Hamilton by-election, saw the party slip into fourth place behind Reform - and was viewed by some pundits as evidence that Mr Farage's party posed an existential threat to the Tories' electoral fortunes.
Mr Findlay yesterday dismissed what he labelled as 'pointy head' pollsters, which he said had been proven wrong in the past.
And while Ms Badenoch is keenly aware of the rise in popularity of Reform - even warning in her speech to conference at the end of last week that Mr Farage is a threat to the Union because he does not care about more SNP rule - she insisted that 'everybody is a competitor' ahead of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.
She said: 'We live in a multi party era; we're going to be fighting for every single vote; we're not singling any party out.'
However, unable to resist being drawn on how she might describe the First Minister John Swinney in three words, the UK Tory leader was characteristically robust.
'Not. An. Option,' she said.
Both Ms Badenoch and Mr Findlay hope a display of humility and contrition to voters over mistakes made in government is key to boosting support for the party.
Asked how she can prove to Scottish voters who appear to have switched to Reform that they need the Scottish Tories, Ms Badenoch said: 'By winning back their trust, and we will do that by being very honest about where we made mistakes.
She said: 'The windfall tax [on oil and gas company profits] was one example.
'I often use immigration as another. We've come up with a whole new set of policies on immigration - which are much tougher - stopping people who have not contributed in our society from getting benefits, which act as a pull factor; not making British citizenship so easy to get, which is another pull factor.
'So we are changing our policy - but we're being very honest, in a way that the other parties simply are not being.'
She added: 'The way we win is by rebuilding trust, winning back that trust, but showing who we are, what we stand for, whose side we're on and having an offer that's actually going to work.'
On Saturday, in his first major conference speech since becoming Scottish Tory leader, Mr Findlay said he was an 'optimist' and that he was 'not prepared to accept doom and gloom'.
Speaking of his party's hopes to win the First Minister's Perthshire North seat, he teased: 'Wouldn't that be some prize? Swinney paying the price for his abysmal record.'
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Daily Mail
6 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Massive security operation kicks in as the US President touches down in Scotland to huge cheering crowds... with only a limp handful protesters
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BBC News
6 minutes ago
- BBC News
US president Donald Trump arrives in Scotland for four-day visit
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The motorcade - which contained more than two dozen vehicles - entered Trump's Turnberry golf resort at about 21:30, flanked by Police Scotland vehicles and ambulance he arrived at the resort, the president's vehicle - known as The Beast - passed a small group of will stay at Turnberry over the weekend before heading to his second property in Aberdeenshire, where he will open a new 18-hole course at Menie."Sean Connery helped get me the permits - if it weren't for Sean Connery we wouldn't have those great courses," he said, referring to the Scottish actor he said helped him get planning permission for the courses. Trump is expected to meet Starmer and Swinney on Monday while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed on X that she will meet the president on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade will travel back to the US on Tuesday and is due to return to the UK for an official state visit in September.A number of protests are expected to be held to coincide with the visit, including demonstrations in Edinburgh and Aberdeen on Saturday. A major security operation has been under way in South Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire this week, ahead of the president's of officers have also been drafted in to support Police Scotland, under mutual aid arrangements, from other UK closures and diversions have been put in place in Turnberry, while a security checkpoint outside the resort and a large fence has been erected around the course.A number of police vans have also been seen at the Menie site. 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Visits to Scotland by sitting US presidents are Elizabeth hosted Dwight D Eisenhower at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire in 1957. George W Bush travelled to Gleneagles in Perthshire for a G8 summit in 2005 and Joe Biden attended a climate conference in Glasgow in only other serving president to visit this century is Trump himself in 2018 when he was met by protesters including one flying a paraglider low over Turnberry, breaching the air exclusion zone around the returned in 2023, two-and-a-half years after he was defeated by Biden. Trump does have a genuine link to Gaelic-speaking mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born in 1912 on the island of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides and left during the Great Depression for New York where she married property developer Fred son's return to Scotland for four days this summer comes ahead of an official state visit from 17-19 September when the president and First Lady Melania Trump will be hosted by King Charles at Windsor Castle in Berkshire.
Sky News
32 minutes ago
- Sky News
'Immigration is killing Europe': Donald Trump issues warning to leaders as he arrives in Scotland
Donald Trump has landed in Scotland ahead of a four-day trip, which includes high-level meetings, praising Sir Keir Starmer as "a good man" but also calling illegal migration a "horrible invasion" that was "killing Europe". Crowds gathered at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire amid a major security operation for the US president's visit. Mr Trump told reporters: "I like your prime minister. He's slightly more liberal than I am... but he's a good man... he got a trade deal done. It's a good deal for the UK." The pair are expected to discuss potential changes to the UK-US trade deal which came into force last month. Trump left Air Force One to head to Turnberry, one of his Scottish golf courses. Part of the trip will include the opening of another course in Aberdeenshire, billed as "the greatest 36 holes in golf". "There's no place like Turnberry. It's the best, probably the best course in the world. And I would say Aberdeen is right up there," the US president said. " Sean Connery helped get me the [planning] permits. If it weren't for Sean Connery, we wouldn't have those great courses," he added. During the trip, President Trump will also hold discussions with Scotland's First Minister John Swinney and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is keen to secure a trade deal with the US. Mr Trump told reporters there was "a good 50-50 chance" of an agreement with the EU but added there were "maybe 20 different" sticking points. EU diplomats say a deal could result in a broad 15% tariff on EU goods and half of the 30% Trump is threatening to impose by 1 August. The US president touched on illegal immigration and gave European leaders a stark warning. "You better get your act together or you're not going to have Europe anymore. You got to get your act together," he said. "But you're allowing it to happen to your countries and you got to stop this horrible invasion that's happening to Europe. Immigration is killing Europe," he told reporters. 1:30 He was also scathing about the installation of wind turbines across Europe. "Stop the windmills. You're ruining your countries," he said. "It's so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds." Domestically, President Trump faces the biggest political crisis of his second term in office over his administration's handling of files linked to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. He faced another round of questions after stepping off Air Force One. "You're making a big thing over something that's not a big thing. I'm focused on making deals, not on conspiracy theories that you are," he said. Mr Trump added that "now's not the time" to discuss a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's imprisoned accomplice. 17:35 👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈 While the president's visit did attract some enthusiastic flag-waving supporters at Prestwick Airport, he is also likely to trigger a number of protests, prompting Police Scotland to call in support from other forces in the UK. The Stop Trump Scotland group has planned demonstrations on Saturday in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dumfries. About 70% of Scots have an unfavourable opinion of Trump, while 18% have a positive opinion, an Ipsos poll in March found. President Trump is staying at his Turnberry property on Scotland's west coast this weekend, before travelling to Aberdeenshire on Monday, where he will open a second 18-hole course. He is due to return to the UK in September for a state visit hosted by the King - the first world leader in modern times to undertake two UK state visits.
