Conservative leader says she wants teachers and builders as her election candidates, not failed politicians following old policies
Wanted: prospective Conservative MPs. Wets need not apply.
That is Kemi Badenoch’s message to her party in The Telegraph, where she reveals that several former colleagues have been rejected as candidates for their love of net zero and the ECHR.
In a striking article, the Tory leader says she will not let her party become a “retirement home for failed politicians” and would prefer to select former businesspeople, builders and teachers as MPs rather than former parliamentarians.
It is her latest pitch as she seeks to modernise the Conservative Party, which has only just begun to shake off the unpopularity of its years in government. The latest polls show Badenoch’s party tied with Labour, and just four points behind Reform UK.
It comes amid speculation that Andy Burnham will be unable to resist pressure to call a general election after he takes office later this month, prompting an all-out war between the three largest parties for No 10.
If that happens, Badenoch says she is “ready” and will not field a list of familiar faces when the country goes to the polls.
“Just because someone had a seat before does not mean the party owes them another one,” she declares. “Everyone starts from scratch. Everyone has to earn their place.”
Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/07/09/badenoch-to-purge-mps-who-back-net-zero/
