The conservative leader KEMI Badenoch has rejected criticism or leadership, saying that the anonymous critics of her party are “cowards.”
“I’m not afraid of cowards,” Newsnight told BBC.
Two anonymous conservatives used an article in Critic magazine to ask for it to retire, while the party prepares for possible losses in the local elections this Thursday in England.
Badenoch said: “I am not worried about the people who are too scared to put their name in a criticism.
“I think it’s cowardice,” he told Newsnight.
“I don’t know who would write anonymous articles or if it is only real. But anything other than that I can’t not be the name, I don’t think I should worry about everything.”
The article, published in the May number of the magazine and online last week, requested that Badenoch was replaced by the Secretary of Justice of the Shadows Robert Jenrick, whom he won in the leadership contest last year.
The article said: “Badenoch is not dragging so much to the party, since it is where a party arrives when it reaches the rock in the background.”
He described it as “unpopular and unpleasant and demonstrably any electoral active for the party.”
He added that: “The Tory party has not reached an agreement with its defeat last year, or with the 14 years that preceded it … we are in mass problems and we are not solving our problems that we do not admit them.”
Earlier this week, Badenoch rejected the claims that there was a gap between her and Jenrick about whether the party should form an electoral pact with the UK reform reform.
Badenoch also told Nick Watt of Newsnight that he felt he was finding his “rhythm” as an opposition leader, and that he was learning from the early experience of Margaret Thatcher, who said he was “terrible in PMQS” at the beginning.
“The opposition leader is completely different from being Secretary of State, which is what I did before,” he said.
“And you know, you find your rhythm, different things, some things work and some things do not work.
“But what I’m really slippery of my group is united. This time last year, which would have to read bones in the newspapers was Tory Rows, a lot of invitation, and we have joined ourselves.”
Thursday’s surveys are Badenoch’s first electoral test since he became a leader, after the defeat of his matches in last year’s general elections.
Conservatives currently have approximately half of the seats for the elections on Thursday, and Badenoch has previously recognized that they could be “extremely difficult” for their party.
