I was in the room when Kemi Badenoch made key promise – proving one thing

From soap boxes to social media, politics has always been about making your voice heard.

But in a world dominated by Trump, Farage, Musk, Boris, among others, Kemi Badenoch has struggled to get her message across.

has been the focus of much attention for the past week or so as a pivot man between Europe and the incendiary US President.

His trip to the White House this week will give the Prime Minister even more time on the airwaves to showcase his diplomatic skills.

As leader of the opposition, Mrs Badenoch has less of an opportunity to strut her stuff.

If the polls are anything to go by – the are third behind Labour and Reform UK – this is beginning to be a problem.

and the rest of his fellow MPs are good at shouting loud.

So is , his visit to on Monday garnering plenty of media coverage.

Mrs Badenoch chose to flex her Conservative muscles today with a meaty speech on Foreign policy.

The Tory leader said she would raid the Foreign Aid and Welfare budgets to boost military spending, possibly to 3%.

And she vowed to quit the ECHR if it does not change.

She also said she “wouldn’t be afraid” to call Russian President a dictator if it were her heading to the White House to meet Trump rather than Sir Keir.

Once she was in full flow, not even nearby demonstrators honking horns in protest at the government’s inheritance tax hike for farmers could drown her out.

The speech, watched on by many of her shadow cabinet, was her best yet as party leader.

Another Tory MP watching keenly inside the packed Whitehall venue was Sir Ian Duncan Smith.

The man dubbed “The Quiet Man” famously said he was “turning up the volume” as he tried to revive his floundering leadership of the party.

While Mrs Badenoch isn’t in that territory, speeches like this one prove voters will listen a bit more closely.