The excitement was palpable.
Billed as the “biggest policy renewal programme in 50 years”; 136 days since becoming Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch’s big policy pitch.
Politics latest: Billions shaved off welfare bill
But don’t expect to be overwhelmed by the detail.
Today’s headline announcement – that net zero by 2050 is “impossible” – is the beginning, I’m told, of a journey setting out the direction of travel first, policy meat will come later.
“A very sensible approach,” a senior Tory tells me before the speech.
She could certainly push Labour on to uncomfortable territory on climate targets.
A Labour Party in Tory clothing? Why Starmer’s backbenchers are deeply uncomfortable
Ex-Tory MP Crispin Blunt still at centre of rape investigation 16 months after arrest
‘We could not make it work’: Kemi Badenoch admits Tories couldn’t find money for major defence boost
Publicly, her party are rallying – but behind the scenes, it’s not difficult to find Conservative MPs who think she has failed to cut through.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Big tests on the horizon
“I think we did expect more by now,” one MP, who backed her for the leadership, tells me.
Is Mrs Badenoch, like Margaret Thatcher, being underestimated by her colleagues early on in her leadership?
Or was she overestimated by the party when they elected her leader?
“I’m not going to pretend I don’t have critics,” Mrs Badenoch tells me.
“I’m just asking people to listen to what I am saying.”
Follow our channel and never miss an update
What’s interesting is the wider Conservative Party machine seem happier than MPs in parliament.
Insiders at the Tory HQ tell me MPs are being bogged down by, for example, her performance at PMQs, which doesn’t cut through with the public.
And it’s not long until we know what is cutting through. The local elections in May (and a by-election in Runcorn and Helsby) will be Mrs Badenoch’s first big electoral test.
Read more:
All Labour’s planned welfare reforms
Headteachers ‘wrong’ if they don’t ban phones
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Is she dancing to Farage’s tune?
The Conservative Party is starting from a high base in the looming local elections – some believe a catastrophic result for Mrs Badenoch could be existential.
“It’s hard to be leader of the opposition after our worst ever electoral defeat,” Robert Jenrick, the man who nearly beat her, tells me after the speech.
He’s not wrong. It’s no exaggeration to say Reform UK is threatening the Conservatives’ chances of ever getting back into government.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Just a few weeks ago, Nigel Farage summoned journalists in central London to row back on climate targets.
Is the Tory leader playing catch up? Her allies say Reform’s climate policy is ill-thought through – hers will take time.
Mrs Badenoch will need more time if she is to turn the Tory party’s fortunes around, but a ruthless party is already showing impatience.
