Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch (Image: GETTY)
has taken to social media to mock ’s first major speech as Conservative Party leader, ridiculing the size of her online audience and taking aim at her leadership.
The Reform UK leader derided the apparent lack of public interest in Mrs Badenoch in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
He said: “A total of 21 people are currently watching Kemi Badenoch’s speech on Facebook, and her YouTube stream crashed. It’s a good job she understands the digital age.”
The dig adds to the ongoing tensions between the two leaders, particularly as Reform UK has overtaken the in recent opinion polls.
During her speech, Mrs Badenoch firmly dismissed the idea of a merger between the and Reform UK, calling the suggestion nonsensical.
:
A total of 21 people are currently watching Kemi Badenoch’s speech on Facebook and her YouTube stream crashed. It’s a good job she understands the digital age.
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage)
She asked: “ says he wants to destroy the Conservative Party. Why on earth would we merge with that?”
Ms Badenoch also questioned the credibility of Mr Farage’s party, repeating her earlier scepticism about its growing membership claims.
She added: “ has been knocking around for 20-plus years, leading all sorts of different parties, so he’s had a head start.
“Let’s see where we are in a few months and years.”
The speech marked Mrs Badenoch’s latest attempt to reset the Conservative Party’s direction after what she called its “greatest ever defeat.”
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Kemi Badenoch delivered her speech yesterday (Image: Getty)
She also acknowledged significant past failings, including the government’s handling of and immigration under previous leaders, saying: “We announced that we would leave the before we had a plan for growth outside the EU.”
On immigration, she added: “We announced year after year that we would lower immigration, but despite our efforts, immigration kept going up.”
Mrs Badenoch further suggested the UK was resting on its laurels.
She said: “There’s a complacency that Britain will always be wealthy and a refusal to live within our means.”
Ms Badenoch also claimed younger generations felt “deeply despondent” about the future, hinting at her desire to attract more youthful voters.
Labour Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves (Image: Getty)
Mr Farage’s trolling highlights Mrs Badenoch’s challenge in presenting herself as a credible alternative to the Reform UK leader.
Her strained relationship with Mr Farage has been well-documented, having previously cast doubt on his claims about Reform UK’s rising popularity. Mr Farage’s quip about Ms Badenoch “knowing her online audience” refers to her previous claim that “Farage doesn’t understand the digital age”.
Labour Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves – sister of Chancellor Rachel Reeves – accused Mrs Badenoch of failing to confront her own role in the ’ mistakes.
She said: “Far from rebuilding trust, Kemi Badenoch still can’t bring herself to be honest about the true litany of mistakes the made over 14 years of failure in government.”
Ms Reeves criticised the lack of an apology for Mrs Badenoch’s involvement in Liz Truss’s mini-Budget, which she blamed for sending rates soaring and leaving a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.