Kemi Badenoch issued warning over Reform UK as Ann Widdecombe says new Tory leader will 'regret' decision: 'She should be afraid of us!'

Taking aim at Nigel Farage, the new Tory leader had also claimed she can "face off that threat" that is coming from Reform, as support for the party continues to gain traction.

Speaking to GB News, Widdecombe claimed that it is Badenoch who had more to worry about than Farage.

Widdecombe said of Badenoch's victory: "If anybody's afraid of anybody else, it will be Kemi afraid of Reform, because she knows what we can do.

"The reason that she has such a pathetic little number of MPs at the moment is precisely because she was not happy that the Conservatives were deserted on a large scale by people who preferred our policies."

Highlighting why Badenoch should be afraid of Reform's strengthening numbers, Widdecombe added: "The other reason why I think she should be afraid is that we do have those very clear policies on things like immigration.

"The thing that distinguished Kemi's campaign for the leadership was the total absence of policies. So no, I don't think we're afraid of Kemi, I think she's got good reason to be afraid of us."

Host Mark Dolan argued that Badenoch's leadership will return the Tory party "to its roots and find its political compass", but Widdecombe staunchly disagreed claiming the party is "still divided".

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Widdecombe told GB News: "But it's still divided, that's the point. Not everybody in Parliament agreed with that choice - Robert Jenrick got a large number of votes.

"Yes, Kemi had a comfortable majority, but he still got a very respectable number of votes. And it's partly I think because he did at least advance policies, which is more than Kemi did. She didn't cause it, but she's inherited a massively, deeply and quite bitterly divided party."

Addressing Badenoch's stance on Reform and Nigel Farage, Widdecombe claimed that the new Tory leader will "come to regret" her comments about the party and its leader.

Widdecombe said: "I can't see her making amends, but I think she may come to regret, as I think Boris came to regret, that she was so dismissive of Reform.

"I think that's a big mistake on her part, but she's got to find that out for herself. She's made it very difficult for any future cooperation, but we weren't seeking that anyway.

"What we are seeking is to replace the Tories as the opposition and we're making big strides."

Expressing her optimism for Reform in future elections, Widdecombe boasted that the party will continue to "win seats" in upcoming by-elections across the UK.

She concluded: "Throughout this Parliament, we shall see during by-elections that we will continue to make those strides. The one thing that the last election showed was that we actually could win seats.

"Everybody said, oh, you won't get any seats. But we got more votes from the Lib Dems and we got seats in Parliament. Even under the first past the post system, which makes it mightily difficult for what you describe as insurgent parties."