Kemi Badenoch rejects Prime Minister's accusation she is 'talking the country down'
Kemi Badenoch has rejected the Prime Minister's accusation that she, along with Nigel Farage, is "talking the country down".
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Sir Keir Starmer slammed Conservative and Reform UK, saying: "While Reform and the Tories talk down the country at every turn, we're doing the work to make people's lives better.
"I'm not interested in scaremongering from the sidelines."
The Conservative Party leader rejected the claims while talking to reporters at a house in Redhill on Monday.
She said: "We're not talking the country down, I am talking Keir Starmer down because he is doing a terrible job, and everyone can see that - what I need to do is show people the Conservative Party has changed.
Read more: Keir Starmer's comms chief quits and he creates new 'secretary to the PM' role in No10 'reset'
"There were mistakes made by the previous Conservative government, I am changing policy, like I've done with net zero," Mrs Badenoch admitted.
She claimed net zero "is impossible" as it stands and said we "cannot bankrupt our country".
She added that the Conservative Party "needs to show that it is on the side of the people of this country".
"We need to get our energy out of the ground rather than importing oil from Norway who are drilling in the same basin - that's not doing anything for the environment."
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been urged to reform the windfall tax in a move that could boost the economy by £137 billion by 2050.
Ahead of the start of its conference in Aberdeen this week, trade body Offshore Energy UK (OEUK) released a report claiming replacing the energy profits levy next year with a profits-based mechanism could increase investment and output in the North Sea.
The government has previously said the windfall tax – which currently sits at 38% – would be scrapped in 2030, or potentially earlier if oil and gas firm profits fall below a certain level.
The replacement, OEUK has said, would be triggered by “unusually high prices” and would be levied against excess profits.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “We know that oil and gas will be with us for decades to come and are managing the transition to clean energy in a balanced way that supports communities.
“This includes Great British Energy, which has already announced £1 billion in investment in British supply chains, unlocking significant investment and helping to create thousands of skilled jobs.
“The Energy Profits Levy will end by 31 March 2030, and we are working with the sector to explore how firms can continue to invest and pay their fair share of tax.”
