Debate: should Kemi Badenoch go?

Coffee House Shots

The Spectator

News, Politics, Government, Daily News

4.4 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 May 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kemi Badenoch has come in for criticism since becoming leader of the opposition – for her energy, her performances at PMQs and her inability to galvanise her shadow cabinet. On this podcast, James Heale hosts the trial of Kemi Badenoch and asks whether someone else might be better placed to take the Tories into the next election and – more importantly – who that prince (or princess) across the water could be. The Spectator’s assistant content editor William Atkinson makes the case for the prosecution, while Michael Gove sets out why the Tories should stick with Kemi. Lara Brown, our new commissioning editor, acts as the jury.

‘If your house is on fire you don’t wait a year to call the fire brigade,’ says William. But Michael argues that political leaders – much like football managers – should be given time and patience in order to implement their direction, philosophy and, ultimately, to become successful. So should she stay or should she go? ... Or should the Tories give it to ‘Big Sam’ until the end of the season?

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The Spectator magazine is home to wonderful writing, insightful analysis and unrivaled books and arts reviews.
0:06.4	Subscribe today for just £12 and receive a 12-week subscription in print and online,
0:11.7	along with a free £20 £10 £1.8.0.Waise or £1.com.com.
0:18.7	Hello and welcome to the special Saturday edition of Coffield. O.ukk forward slash voucher.
0:25.4	Hello and welcome to the special Saturday edition of Coffee House Shots.
0:29.6	I'm James Hill. I'm joined today by the editor of the spectator, Michael Gove, our assistant content editor, William Atkinson, and commissioning editor, Laura Brown.
0:33.3	And the subject we're debating on this special extended edition of Coffee House Shots today
0:36.8	is the feature of the Conservative leadership. William Atkinson has been very sort of staunch in his belief that Kimmy Bednock should go. Our editor Michael Gove will argue against that and that the Tory should give her more time. And then we've got Lara performing the role as sort of floating voter or juror as you were in this trial. So I'm going to start off with you, William. Why do you think Cameron Bedlock should now go as Tory leader? Well, because six months ago when she became
0:59.0	the leader, I didn't think she was up to the job. And the six months that she has been
1:02.9	leader of the Conservative Party, she has proved very amply that she isn't up to the job.
1:07.2	The Conservative Party is currently facing an existential crisis.
1:11.8	300 years of Toryism after the local elections a couple of weeks ago seem to about to be drawing to a close.
1:20.3	If the party is losing councils like Kent and Staffordshire in one fell swoop to reform and the Lib Dems,
1:27.1	what's going to happen next year when you have
1:28.9	elections in Essex, Suffolk, Hampshire, Norfolk and beyond, previously sort of staunchly-blue Tory areas,
1:35.6	which I could see going on mass to reform. And then you also repeat that at the elections in Wales and Scotland as well.
1:41.8	And you will see the Conservative Party wiped out, I think,
1:44.2	all in one go as a political force across the country. Obviously, as somebody who's been a member
1:48.2	of the Conservative Party since the age of 15, this is something I very much don't want to happen.
1:53.4	And I think the only way in which any recovery is going to be possible is going to have to
1:58.8	require Kemi Bad to not going for the simple reason
2:01.5	that she inherited a very bad situation after the general election, but she at least inherited a
	...

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