Leadership rivals reject Tory MP’s claim Badenoch ‘preoccupied’ with children

Kemi Badenoch has criticised a Conservative MP’s suggestion she could not head the Tories because she was too “preoccupied” with her children, saying “it isn’t always women who have parental responsibilities”.

Meanwhile, her leadership rival Robert Jenrick also distanced himself from the remarks made by his supporter Sir Christopher Chope, describing them as “definitely wrong”.

The two finalists in the race to succeed Rishi Sunak went head to head in a GB News show on Thursday where they made their pitches to Conservative members and took questions from a live audience.

They clashed on issues of migration, the European Convention on Human Rights and the balance between principles and pledges, with Mr Jenrick’s team appearing to criticise Ms Badenoch’s focus on “conviction” over policy.

However, they were aligned in rejecting suggestions made by Sir Christopher earlier on Thursday, when he told ITV “you can’t spend all your time with your family” while serving as leader of the opposition.

The MP had said he would be backing Mr Jenrick, whose children are “a bit older”, in the contest.

Ms Badenoch’s youngest child is five and her eldest is 12, while Mr Jenrick also has three children between the ages of eight and 13.

Asked whether she could be both a mother and a party leader, she told the show: “Of course you can. I love my children. I have the most beautiful children in the world. I want to spend as much time with them as possible.

“I said to all of you (the audience) that family was one of my key principles … family is important. We have to live by our principles.

“I was able to be a great business secretary and trade secretary and equalities minister, effectively doing three jobs while balancing my home life.”

Asked what she would say to Sir Christopher, she said: “I might remind him that it isn’t always women who have parental responsibilities, men do too.”

Mr Jenrick said of the remarks: “He was wrong, he was definitely wrong. Kemi and I both have three children. She’s a great mum, I’d (like) to think I’m a great dad.”

Elsewhere in the show:

– Ms Badenoch claimed “no-one has done more for Brexit than I did” as she defended her record as business secretary and took a veiled swipe at rival Mr Jenrick, who supporting remaining in the EU in 2016 and has since moved to the right of the Tory Party.

– Mr Jenrick has said he would cap migration in “the tens of thousands or lower” if he were in charge.

– Ms Badenoch said the UK should not be embarrassed by its colonial past, social media is “for adults” and not children, and that she likes both US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris “equally”.

– Mr Jenrick claimed the Government had relinquished sovereignty of the Chagos Islands “so that David Lammy can feel better when he goes to a dinner party in north London” and said the former Tory government in which he served “shouldn’t have” started negotiations over the territory.

– Ms Badenoch claimed the Tory Party had offered “all policy and no principles, that is why I keep emphasising principles” as she said Nigel Farage speaks with “clarity” and “conviction”, and vowed to deliver “conviction politics” for members.

– Ms Badenoch claimed that the phrase “culture wars” was being used as a “dog-whistle to try and attack the right”, who she said were “defending our culture”.

– Pressed on reports that she is difficult to work with, Ms Badenoch claimed she “defends other people from bullies”, but attacked former colleagues for having “run to the Guardian newspaper to tell lies about me”.

– Both candidates claimed they had argued against the depletion of the armed forces while serving as ministers in the previous Tory government.

– Mr Jenrick repeated his support for the UK leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) while Ms Badenoch said that the move was “not a silver bullet” for controlling migration, and that his argument would “divide our party” and mean the “infighting and squabbling will continue”.

Following the programme, a spokesman for Mr Jenrick said:  “Politicians should have policies – they do matter. None more so than on immigration.

“We won’t regain people’s trust unless we set out what we’d do differently this time.

“After the comparative performances tonight, the case for a real head-to-head debate is even stronger. Party members deserve to see these candidates debate the big challenges facing our country.”

A straw poll of the GB News audience suggested Ms Badenoch remained the clear favourite to succeed Mr Sunak, with many members cheering and applauding when her name was called.

Tory members are voting in the coming days for their new party leader, who is due to be announced on November 2.