LONDON, England — Senior members of the UK Conservative Party are planning a fresh bid to remove their leader, Kemi Badenoch, as internal panic deepens over the party’s future following its catastrophic local election performance and the surging momentum of Reform UK.
The Independent reports that backbench meetings are being organised to discuss the leadership crisis, with at least two MPs confirming plans to consult colleagues over Badenoch’s removal.
“We cannot continue as we are and she is just not up to the task,” one MP said, echoing a sentiment gaining traction across factions.
The Tories lost 674 council seats and control of 15 councils in last week’s local elections — a result one Conservative described as “worse than last year’s general election.”
Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, won 676 seats and 10 councils, prompting Farage to declare his party “the new opposition.”
Badenoch, who became leader just six months ago, now faces growing discontent from across the party’s ideological spectrum.
Several MPs are reportedly urging Robert Jenrick to re-enter the leadership fray, with others seeing former foreign secretary Sir James Cleverly as a potential centrist challenger.
Though Cleverly publicly stated he supports Badenoch, he declined to rule out a leadership bid: “I can rule nothing out and nothing in.”
One senior MP remarked, “If we give Kemi another year it could be curtains for us. There are no policies, no ideas, no strategy, and she has no charisma.”
Another said they were “banging their head against a brick wall” trying to understand the party’s approach to countering Reform UK.
Internal proposals to create a targeted “anti-Reform” messaging unit — supported by veteran Brexiteers such as Sir Bill Cash — reportedly received little enthusiasm from Badenoch’s team.
Meanwhile, her appointment of former MPs Rachel MacLean and Therese Coffey to senior advisory roles has also drawn criticism.
Despite mounting unease, current Conservative Party rules require 41 MPs — one-third of the parliamentary party — to trigger a leadership challenge through formal letters to the 1922 Committee chair, Bob Blackman.
While no MPs have yet gone on the record demanding Badenoch’s resignation, outside voices have begun to break ranks.
Jason Smithers, former Conservative leader of North Northamptonshire Council, directly called for her resignation.
“I can’t see how a leader of a party can stay on with such terrible results across the country,” he said.
Phillip Blond, director of the ResPublica think tank and a former adviser to David Cameron, also urged her to step down.
Still, Badenoch remains defiant. In a BBC interview on Sunday, she said: “This is not about winning elections; this is about fixing our country.”
She rejected the idea that changing leaders again would solve the party’s problems, insisting it was time for “steadying the ship” and delivering policy outcomes.
That interview, however, appears to have further unnerved some MPs. “She is talking as though we have lots of time to turn things around,” said one senior Tory.
“We do not. It may even be too late already. She has left a huge space for Nigel Farage to fill.”
While shadow cabinet figures are urging MPs not to act hastily, calls for a change in leadership may continue to grow unless Badenoch is able to swiftly restore confidence in her vision for the party — and counter the rise of Reform UK.
