Either Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will become the next leader of the Conservative Party, picking up the mantle after a chastening general election defeat.
The final pair in the contest both served as ministers in the previous government and weren’t shy of voicing their opinions. As they fight to be the person to pick the Conservatives up from electoral oblivion, here’s what Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch have said on key topics, from poverty to the environment.
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Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch on the housing crisis
Jenrick: “The social housing stock in this country should be focused on people who’ve been here for a longer period of time. I think that’s a common-sensical policy.”
Badenoch: “The truth is that the only way to improve the lives of the millions of people living in rented homes is to control immigration and build more homes, particularly in high-demand areas like Inner London.”
Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch on the environment and net zero
Jenrick: “The UK is only 1% of the world’s emissions. There’s no prizes for being the first country in the world to decarbonise. We should be working towards net zero 2050, but we shouldn’t be decarbonising faster than our major competitors in the world.”
Badenoch: “I think that it was wrong of us to set a target without having a clear plan of the cost and knowing what it would entail. Setting an arbitrary target like that is the wrong way to go.