Yesterday, as the deck of HMS Wellington rocked in the harsh, autumnal wind, Kemi Badenoch delivered a speech that was so utterly pointless that I questioned why I bothered setting my alarm to wake up for it in the first place.
Prior to her talk, I was already in a bit of a foul mood. Owing to what I presume was a logistical mix-up as opposed to some forced humiliation ritual, I found myself not with the rest of the media but with the activists at the back of the stage holding placards.
“You’re tall” one of the CCHQ organisers remarked, “hold this.” Not wanting to cause a ruckus or, worse, be chucked overboard, I obliged. I grimaced and lifted the piece of Union-flag-emblazoned cardboard which read “Britain’s security before Benefits Street” high above my head for all to see. Never before had I felt so patriotic – the love for my country unwavering.
The staffers on hand gave us a set of very simple instructions. When both Cartlidge and Badenoch appeared on stage, we were to cheer as loud as humanly possible. And so, as the Shadow Defence Secretary appeared from the boat’s underbelly and walked out onto the makeshift platform, I let out a little ‘hurrah’.
I was probably better off remaining silent, because Cartlidge didn’t really say much. His introductory comments were fairly generic and, aside from a quip about Reform’s soon-to-be Defence Spokesperson requiring approval from the Kremlin, weren’t too eventful. Soon after, however, Kemi took to the stage.
Introduced as the country’s “next Prime Minister,” Badenoch took a hold of the microphone. Unfortunately, much of what she discussed was filler. Rather like a circle, it was pointless. She didn’t announce anything new, nor say anything that was particularly ground-breaking. In fact, the whole occasion probably could’ve been scrapped and replaced with a press release instead.
She droned on about the rising welfare bill, and how it needs to be reined in to properly fund our defence, and she made a number of digs at Burnham for not having a proper plan. She briefly touched on her big, master idea – the so-called ‘Britannia Shield’ – which she argued would protect Britain from missile strikes. Though, I must say that a targeted strike at this point of the speech may well have been welcome. It would, at the very least, have spared us from listening to what I can only term as ‘boredom in spoken form’.
After banging on some more about welfare, she went on to read John Healey’s resignation letter aloud, having printed off a copy which she pulled out of her jacket pocket. And then the speech ended. It really wasn’t clear what the purpose of the gathering was. As one member of the lobby put it to me, “I was not entirely sure why we were there.” In fact, the chinook which fluttered overhead was probably of more significance than anything that Badenoch uttered in her speech. I counted more eyes looking up into the sky than on her.
It wasn’t all bad, though. Much to Kemi’s credit, she at least performed well during the Q&A. Pressed on reparations and quizzed on matters of slavery, Badenoch pushed back against her critics, arguing that apologising on the world stage makes Britain look “weak”, and that our interests would be better served if we stood up for ourselves. It was a noticeably stronger showing than anything else we bore witness to.
Others, however, failed to share in my cynicism. One MP present remarked to me afterwards that the speech was “really good”, and another attendee quipped that the whole get together was rather “fantastic.” Perhaps it’s the nature of political journalism that I see the worst in things, but given that this week is incredibly important for all things pertaining to defence, I would’ve liked to see a bit more from Badenoch.
Reform are, after all, set to announce their Defence Spokesperson on Thursday. As much as Cartlidge might joke that whoever it is is still awaiting approval from the Kremlin, the appointment showcases, at the very minimum, that Reform are at least attempting to professionalise their operation. Who the individual will be still remains a mystery. Rumours have circulated that Sarah Atherton, the former Veterans Minister, could be in line for the role, but this is still very much a guess.
Whoever Farage appoints doesn’t detract from yesterday’s bizarre performance, however. Dragged out in the blistering cold to listen to the same talking points that have been repeated ad nauseum for the last few months, it all seemed a bit out of place. Aside from grabbing a bit of media attention in the run up to Thursday, I really don’t see what the purpose of the rally was. It may well be the case that I just don’t understand the complexities of modern day media strategies, but my takeaway was that the whole ordeal made Badenoch look a little bit lost at sea.