Watch in full: Kemi Badenoch’s speech on day one of the Conservative Party conference

Kemi Badenoch has vowed to transform the Conservative Party into a movement with clear principles as she unveiled her blueprint for the party's future.

Speaking on day one of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, the Tory leader said her ambition to “renew” the party went beyond changing individual policies or removing members who had plotted against her.

She said the Conservatives needed to become a party that “knows what it stands for, a Conservative Party that knows what it believes and knows who its people are”.

Central to that vision is a new plan, The Right Way, which sets out Mrs Badenoch’s diagnosis of the problems facing Britain and the principles she believes should underpin a future Conservative government.

Drawing on the party’s 1976 publication The Right Approach, Mrs Badenoch argued the Conservatives needed to use their time in opposition to develop a clear governing philosophy before returning to power.

“In government, you will be buffeted by unexpected events,” she said, pointing to the war in Ukraine, the conflict in Iran, the global financial crisis and the Covid pandemic as examples of crises governments can face unexpectedly.

“We have to be ready for anything,” she added.

Mrs Badenoch said the party needed “strong roots” to stay focused on Britain's long-term interests rather than short-term political pressures.

She outlined a series of principles at the heart of The Right Way, including the belief that “wealth must be created before it can be distributed” and that “freedom requires responsibility”.

She also argued that people would keep breaking rules without consequences, while insisting government should be judged by what it achieves rather than the intentions behind its policies.

“Government must be strong where only the state can be, but it must be restrained where people are better placed to decide for themselves,” she said.

“That is the Conservative Party I am bringing back,” she declared.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• Kemi Badenoch sets out a six-point fix for party citing 'right foundations' of Thatcher government
• Andy Burnham blasted as ‘completely undemocratic’ by Laura Trott as PM flirts with Brexit betrayal
• Camilla Tominey grills Justice Secretary over early release after freed prisoner vows to steal again

“When we win the next election, and we will, we are going to need to hit the ground running. We will need to be ready from day one.”

The Conservative leader also used her speech to attack Labour's approach to governing, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of repeatedly changing his priorities without a coherent long-term plan.

She pointed to the Prime Minister's previous “missions”, “first steps” and “plan for change”, arguing that the repeated changes showed the Conservatives need to develop their own detailed blueprint before returning to government.

“Keir Starmer didn't have a plan,” Mrs Badenoch told attendees.

“Andy Burnham doesn't have one either, and that is why I know the announcements he is making will all come to nought.”

Mrs Badenoch also argued the Conservatives needed to look to the future rather than be moored in nostalgia.

“While other parties hark back to the past, we are for the future,” she said.

The Tory leader concluded by setting out the themes for the rest of the conference, including the Union, economic growth, national security and restoring “standards and rules” with consequences for those who break them.

“This is how we are going to govern as a team,” Mrs Badenoch said, “pulling in the same direction, following our values and principles.”