Kemi Badenoch in furious attack on 'bull*******' Nigel Farage and 'liar' Keir Starmer

Kemi Badenoch branded Sir Keir Starmer a "liar" and Nigel Farage a "bull*******" in an extraordinary attack. The Tory leader hit out at the Prime Minister and Reform UK leader in a speech to a Conservative dinner at the Local Government Association's annual conference last week.

According to the Spectator, Mrs Badenoch said: "Sometimes it's really challenging when we have opponents to the left and the right of us promising people things that we know that they can never do. And a man sent me an email the other day. He said that 'there are liars in politics and that there are bullshitters'. And you need to understand the difference between a liar and a bull*******.

"And a liar will tell you something that is definitely not true. That's where Keir Starmer fits in.

"Every week at PMQs, he stands up and talks about how business confidence is great, the economy is going gangbusters and all is fine.

"Nigel Farage is a bull*******, a bull*******. The difference between liars and bull**** is that bull******** don't care whether what they're saying is true or false. They just say whatever.

"We are not liars and we don't do bull*******. We tell the truth. That is what my leadership is about."

She went on to insist that the insurgent party is "not a right-wing party".

Mrs Badenoch said: "They are not on the centre-right. They want more nationalisation. They want more benefits. They want to lift the two-child benefit cap."

Her comments come as the Conservatives are trailing behind Reform in national opinion polls.

The latest YouGov survey put Mr Farage's party in the lead on 26%.

Labour was second on 24%, while the Tories were third with 17%.