'Conservatives believe in low taxes and will develop policies around core principles,' says party co-chair

Huddleston spoke to GB News about the party's future direction under Badenoch's leadership this morning, shortly before the full frontbench was unveiled.

He said: "We've got a period of reflection to do and Kemi was very clear her whole election campaign was called Renewal 2030, it wasn't Kemi for leader.

"It is about renewing the party, uniting the party, and making sure that we hold this government to account and therefore be in a position to win as many seats as possible come the next election and, of course, local elections coming up.

"And in order to do that, we do need a fresh look. We took a beating at the last general election. We need to properly reflect and understand why, and then develop policies based on those core principles that unite us.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• 'A joke!' Starmer sparks fury from students after breaking tuition fees promise - 'It's not fair!'
• 'Makes me sick!' Bev Turner FUMES over Labour investing in carbon capture
• Streeting GOBSMACKED as Eamonn grills him for 'not going far enough' with smoking ban

"That was a theme that Kemi had throughout the campaign.

"It's one of the many reasons why so many people voted for her, because we do need to focus around those principles that unite us, which is very different I think [to what] you saw in the Budget last week.

"In particular, we believe in low taxes, we believe in personal responsibility, we believe in efficiency and, where possible, small government.

"This is in stark contrast to the opposition and we're up for the fight now.

"We will unite around the new leader, because the whole future of the country is at stake, and therefore we take that responsibility to be an effective opposition very seriously indeed.

He added: "We are a much smaller party than we were, but we've got a lot of fresh, new talent as well. And if you look at, for example, some of the maiden speeches from some of our new colleagues. They're outstanding. They're incredibly capable individuals.

"They're bringing incredible experience from the public and private sector into Parliament..the key thing is we will unite around renewal. We will unite around Kemi because we have to do that.

"One of the messages I got loud and clear from the electorate at the last General Election, it was the disunity that annoyed people. It was the fact that we were fighting amongst ourselves, that people didn't understand what we stood for.

"Those are all things that Kemi has taken on board, and this new message from the new opposition will be very clear indeed, and I'm excited about it."

Announcing her shadow cabinet, Badenoch said: "I am delighted to have appointed my shadow cabinet, which draws on the talents of people from across the Conservative Party, based on meritocracy and with a breadth of experience and perspective, just as I promised during the campaign.

"Our party's problems will only be solved with a team effort, and I am confident my shadow cabinet ministers will deliver effective opposition as we seek to win back the trust of the public."

"We will now get to work holding Labour to account and rebuilding our party based on Conservative principles and values. The process of renewing our great party has now begun."