Kemi Badenoch says her party will put forward a “different way of doing things” at next year’s Holyrood election.
Speaking at her first Scottish conference as Conservative party leader, Badenoch also warned Scots that Nigel Farage’s Reform will “let the SNP in”.
“The Conservative party is under new leadership and we’ll once again represent everyone across Scotland and the UK who believe the same things we do,” Badenoch said.
“Only our party will bring down bills and give people control of their hard-earned money.
“At next year’s [Holyrood] election, Russell Findlay will put forward a different way of doing things.”
Findlay said both he and Badenoch were “realistic” about the challenges they face, but also “optimistic” that the Tories can win back public trust.
Getty ImagesBadenoch also told the conference she would be “standing up for our oil and gas”.
Although the UK windfall tax was originally introduced by the previous Conservative government, Badenoch said it was a “good example of what we got wrong” – then added the current Labour administration at Westminster has “doubled down” on the mistake.
She said Labour has extended the tax, claiming it is “killing the oil and gas industry”.
If the measure remains in place until 2030 as intended, Badenoch said “there will be no industry left to tax”.
She promised that a Conservative government under her leadership would end the UK windfall tax and lift the ban on new oil licences.
She said: “The strikes overnight in the Middle East remind us of how vital it is that we can rely on our own energy security, our own natural resources.”
Under her leadership, Badenoch said a Conservative government would also scrap the family farms tax to “ensure we keep British food on British plates”.
Hitting out at Reform – which claimed on Friday to now have 11,000 members in Scotland – Badenoch said for Farage’s party, the union between Scotland and England is “just not that important”.
In contrast, Badenoch stressed the Conservatives will “always be proud” of the union.
“Reform will vote to let the SNP in, Conservatives will only ever vote to get the nationalists out,” she said.
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