UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Kemi Badenoch expressed doubt over Elon Musk’s potential funding to Reform UK, asserting that she would raise equal funds to compete.
Despite claims from Reform UK’s treasurer that Musk was ready to donate millions, Ms Badenoch rejected the idea.
The Tory leader stated that even if Nigel Farage’s party got funding of $100m from Elon, she would ensure her party raised the same amount.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she stated,
“I believe in competition, so I think that if Elon Musk is giving a competitive party money, then that is a challenge for me to make sure I raise the same.”
While Kemi Badenoch spoke out, Reform UK’s treasurer, Nick Candy, confirmed that Elon Musk and other billionaires were set to donate to the party.
Mr Candy promised unseen political disruption for Reform UK, claiming backing from Musk and other billionaire supporters.
As reported by The Guardian, Candy said Reform UK would raise more funds than all political parties for campaigns and polling.
Badenoch, while commenting on Musk’s meeting with Farage and Candy at Mar-a-Lago stated,
“I do not believe that he is going to give that money, but it doesn’t matter if he does because it is a challenge to make sure that we can raise the same.”
When questioned about departures to Reform UK, she said Andrea Jenkyns, the former Tory minister who recently joined Farage’s party, did not “like me,” it was “very personal” but “I don’t really care.”
In response to a question about her party, Ms Badenoch said rebuilding the party was a “marathon, not a sprint,” and highlighted the challenges ahead, particularly the upcoming local elections.
She stated,
“We’re going to have milestones, things like local elections and so on, which are going to be very difficult.”
When the interviewer inquired about the party’s stance on the important issues, the Tories leader replied, “You will start to see them soon… watch this space is what I’m saying.”
When it was pointed out to Ms Badenoch that Nigel Farage’s party has clear policies on key issues like renationalising Thames Water, she responded, “My position is that we start with what we are trying to solve.”
In November, Kemi Badenoch won the Conservative’s leadership, beating Robert Jenrick to succeed Rishi Sunak.
During her winning speech, she urged the party to accept its past mistakes in government and focused her leadership campaign on principles rather than policy.
Responding to Ms Badenoch, Mr Farage stated,
“Poor Kemi, it’s all so sad. She doesn’t understand that the level of betrayal means that the Tory brand is broken.”
A shadow minister for Ms Badenoch said on Sunday that it will require time for voters to connect with the new leader, but they will learn to truly admire her.
The Tories party has been stuck at 26.1% in the polls, just 2% more than when Liz Truss resigned, while Reform UK is close behind, even moving ahead of Labour in recent polls.