Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, once again demonstrated her penchant for embracing far-fetched conspiracy theories during this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions. Rather than focusing on the substantive issues arising from the recent budget, Badenoch opted to embark on a series of bizarre tangents, much to the chagrin of her own backbenchers.
Badenoch began by suggesting that the resignation of Richard Hughes, the chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), was the result of “dark forces” at work – a claim that was quickly debunked. She then went on to question whether the person in charge of a “failing organisation” should resign, seemingly unaware of the dire state of the Conservative Party itself, which is haemorrhaging support and has seen a growing number of MPs defect to the Reform UK party.
The Tory leader’s descent into conspiratorial thinking only deepened from there. She accused the Treasury of engaging in “massive stock market manipulation” to “game the system,” despite a complete lack of evidence to support such a claim. Badenoch even went so far as to suggest that the Chancellor herself should be prosecuted for market abuse, a notion that was dismissed by even her closest allies.
Throughout the exchange, Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, appeared content to let Badenoch embarrass herself, as she repeatedly missed the mark and failed to land any meaningful blows against the Labour Party. As one Conservative MP observed, Badenoch has “lost the plot,” a sentiment that was echoed across the House of Commons.
The spectacle was a stark reminder of Badenoch’s tendency to prioritise conspiracy theories and partisan attacks over substantive policy discussions. As the Tories continue to struggle in the polls, the party’s leadership will need to find a way to move beyond such unproductive diversions if they hope to mount a credible challenge to the Labour opposition.
