Kemi Badenoch says leadership involves ‘tough words’ too

Asked if she was suggesting some of her staff were useless, Badenoch said: “No, that’s not what I said at all. We want to have a high-performing organisation.

“Leadership isn’t just about telling everybody how great they are – sometimes it is about telling them how to improve.

“Quite frankly, one of the thing we are seeing in this country is millions of people out of work and not enough people pulling their socks up and getting back on their feet.

“We need sometimes to have tough words when people aren’t doing well and words of praise when they are doing well. That’s exactly what I did.”

On Tuesday, the Guido Fawkes website reported, external that Badenoch had told staff at Conservative Central Headquarters they “must do better”.

Pressed on whether she was panicking about the challenge posed by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, Badenoch said it was not the first time the Conservatives had had low poll ratings.

“We need to make sure we understand what is going wrong,” she said.

“That is we have just been kicked out of government – the public aren’t going to rush back to us just because Labour are doing badly, we need to rebuild trust with the public. We need to make sure we are fit and ready.”

During her time in politics, Badenoch has gained a reputation for being blunt – but speaking to BBC Newscast last year before becoming leader, she said she might have to tone down her approach.

Asked about her manner, she said: “I just think I’m saying something that I wouldn’t mind hearing back, so I treat people how I treat myself and, you know, I’ve had even some of my advisers saying, ‘Why did you say that?’

“I have to be mindful that I have a higher tolerance for things than others, and I think part of being a leader is being able to calibrate so that you can help manage other people.”