I want to follow Trump and Musk’s efficiency drive

Britain should emulate Donald Trump and Elon Musk to make the world work and cut waste, said Kemi Badenoch.

The conservative leader praised the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will be introduced by Mr. Trump when he returns to the White House next month.

DOGE will be run by Mr. Musk, the billionaire owner of X, and Vivek Ramaswamy, another businessman, and will focus on breaking witchcraft and reforming government institutions.

Speaking on the Camilla Tominey Show on GB News, Mrs Badenoch expressed her hope that the US president-elect will succeed in his goals “because that’s what I want to do”.

“I am very happy with what the president will bring,” he said. “I am a person who has always written about the fact that we are doing democracy as a country, not doing business.

“I wrote papers, I gave lectures on this, and the DOGE was what I was talking about. Javier Milei in Argentina also has this thesis that Western countries have become too busy in obedience and leadership.

“So it will be interesting to see how President Trump moves forward with DOGE and those programs, because that’s what I want to do.”

“That’s what I’ve always wanted to do, even as a secretary of business when I’ve issued policy intelligence papers and I’ve cut the rules for review. These are the things we can do to make our economy grow again. “

Ms Badenoch met with JD Vance, the vice president-elect, in Washington this month as she sought to “improve” her relationship with the Republican Party, although she has yet to meet Mr Trump.

The Tory leader urged Sir Keir Starmer to prioritize a “big prize” for a trade deal with the US after Joe Biden suspended negotiations when he took office.

“Now, with the new president Trump, what Keir Starmer should be doing is chasing a US free trade agreement, and we’re going to be pushing for that,” he said.

“The most important thing is to make sure you sign a deal that works for both countries, not one lost, and only the Conservatives do that.”

Mrs Badenoch also appeared to dismiss members of Reform UK as Nigel Farage’s “fan club” in a swipe at the centre-right rebel party.

“I am in charge of the establishment of the Conservative Party. Nigel Farage is a person, he does not have any membership organization,” he said.

When told that Reform had just passed 100,000 members, meaning it was close to the Tories’ 130,000 members, Mrs Badenoch replied: “They do, but what can they do as members?

“My members have their say, they are members of the organization, I am the one who has to take care of them. They are not my fan club. Those are the people I care about.”

‘Go ahead and rebuild trust in the Tories’

Warning that it would take “full time in opposition” before the general election, Mrs Badenoch said there was a “long way” ahead of rebuilding trust in the Conservative brand.

The party won a landslide victory in December 2019 to return just 121 MPs in the July general election amid widespread dissatisfaction with successive Tory governments.

“We have to remember that I have been in power for five weeks and we are talking about a party that has been in government for 14 years,” Mrs Badenoch added.

“It will take time. To imagine that after 14 years, we will just put a lick of paint on it and say ‘ta-da’, it will not be the case. It will be a long slog. I’m here for the long haul, I’m not here to just talk a little and throw gimmicks out.

In her first few weeks as Tory leader, Mrs Badenoch refused to make policy promises and argued that it was important to start with “first principles”.

On Sunday he again refused to commit to capping immigration, although he said the Tories would arrive at that figure after a detailed assessment of economic needs.

He also rejected the idea that withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights would make people start sooner, saying that the Home Office had a “manpower problem”.