British conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, would be a reference for his eventual government. According to declared to Financial Timesthe Argentine’s firm and liberal style would serve as “model” for his political program.
According to the newspaper The Guardianwhen asked if the UK needed Milei – known for the antisystem profile and for symbolically carrying a chainsaw as a sign of spending – she responded directly: “Yes and yes.”
Milei came to power in 2023 promising dramatically wiping the size of the Argentine state. In his assessment, Badenoch believes he can follow a similar path, proposing deep reforms in the public sector.
Although the conservative party appears third in the 2026 election polls, behind Nigel Farage’s reform UK, Badenoch stated that conservatives should offer hope to the electorate and not just absorb frustrations. Still according to the The GuardianShe acknowledged that the British audience is still “not ready to forgive” the party’s recent mistakes, and that Farage would be “stealing the oxygen of all.”
She accused the leader of the reform UK of positioning her subtitle “on the left of conservatives” on topics as social benefits, and stated that the wear with “the bullshit of Farage” would soon tire the voter.
Pressured to detail his government program, Badenoch stressed that his proposal “is not about cutting state spending,” but of evaluating the role and actual function of public institutions. He also rejected the possibility of facing an internal leadership challenge, stating: “I can’t spend all the time worrying about regicide. I would lose my head.”
Badenoch stated that his main focus is now on the economy. “People are listening to the economy more because I am being extremely relentless in building this specific argument, almost leaving the rest in the background,” he said, according to the The Guardian.
Still, the expectation is that its first party conference as a leader, scheduled for October, to be dedicated to the migratory agenda. At the time, she must present the definitive position of the conservative party regarding the permanence of the United Kingdom at the European Convention on Human Rights. Last month, Badenoch had already signaled: he is “increasingly convinced that we will need to leave.”
