KEMI BADENOCH: Hiring Sue Gray may be Starmer's worst decision

It's time to get serious. We are being governed by unserious politicians and Sue Gray's departure yesterday is part of the pattern.

Keir Starmer's lack of integrity didn't start with his freebies scandal; it began the moment he hired one of the country's most senior civil servants. And now, the wheels have well and truly come off.

Perhaps Sue Gray was always a Labour sleeper. Either way, Starmer's decision to bring her on board may have been a short-term coup but it's dealt a hammer blow to the civil service's reputation for impartiality and demonstrated the problems with our broken system that I have long been warning about.

When I worked with Sue Gray (who, by the way, I quite like), she tried to pressure me into dropping my opposition to the SNP's crazy Gender Recognition Bill. This was the very bill that, if not blocked by Westminster, would have allowed 16-year-olds to 'self-identify' as the opposite sex – no medical diagnosis required.

Many ministers might have bowed to such pressure from a senior mandarin. But I stood firm. For me, this was a matter of principle, not politics.

Ignoring Sue Gray's advice turned out to be one of my best decisions. Hiring her, however, will go down as one of Starmer's worst – because it shows that Labour has no principles.

This lack of principle is precisely why Labour has churned out a series of reckless and ill-thought-out policies. Just look at their latest fiascos: giving away the ­Chagos Islands, slashing winter fuel payments for pensioners, and slapping VAT on private school fees. It's all grounded in cheap class warfare and faddish decolonisation rhetoric. This is student ­politics from grown men and women who never outgrew their university debating societies.

Margaret Thatcher used to say that if you set out to be liked, you'll be willing to compromise on everything – and you'll end up achieving nothing. She was right then, and she's right now. Mrs T would certainly say that Labour's rise to power is a direct result of the Conservative Party letting the public down by failing to deliver on our promises and losing sight of how to tackle today's pressing issues.

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That's why the upcoming Tory leadership race couldn't be more critical. We need a leader who won't bend to overreaching civil servants or crumble under pressure from political opponents. Let me remind you: I was the minister who removed the supremacy of the European Court of Justice last year, even when the House of Lords stood against me. I was the one who flew around the world to secure our biggest post-Brexit trade deal with the Indo-Pacific bloc-a deal that had been deadlocked, with 11 countries in disagreement. I ended up negotiating a deal for British farmers that was so good, it upset the Canadians. And, when civil servants threatened to strike or when protesters stormed my department over our trade deal with Israel, I stood my ground. I didn't cave in or cancel arms licenses.

On this anniversary of Hamas' horrific attacks on October 7, and with nearly 100 hostages still being held by terrorists in Gaza, Labour should be reconsidering their unforgivable partial suspension of arms exports to Israel. But we know Starmer won't rethink it - he's too busy giving away our rights and sovereignty, as he did last week with the Chagos Islands. Knowing what I do about Sue Gray's politics, I'm sure she would have advised an all-too-eager Labour party to go ahead.

So how do we ensure the next Conservative leader lasts the course?

We must choose someone who is strong, principled, and not afraid to have their words twisted. Just last week, I was accused of wanting to lower the minimum wage-when I'm the Secretary of State who raised it to keep up with inflation. Even more ridiculous were the claims that I wanted to scrap maternity pay -when I had simply been advocating for cutting red tape in business. At Tory conference, I made a light-hearted gag that some civil servants are so bad at their jobs they should be jailed, but of course, some humourless headlines couldn't see the joke.

But these kinds of misrepresentations will happen to anyone who has convictions that scare the Left. That's why we need a straight-talking leader who is cool under pressure and has a clear vision and direction for our party and our country.

Starmer has proven time and again that he's not that leader. Meanwhile, Reform UK is circling, positioning itself as a serious alternative. Who can outfox Sir Keir Starmer? Who is more authentically conservative than Nigel Farage? Who can occupy the common ground better than the Lib Dems?

It has never been more urgent to put the right person in charge. The world is becoming more dangerous by the day. An authoritarian axis is forming, ready to exploit any sign of weakness in the West. We are living through the dawn of a new Cold War, and the stakes couldn't be higher.

The Conservatives have to be the party of strength, as Labour continues be the opposite - surrounding themselves with advisors who want to see a weaker, poorer Britain.

With the right Tory leader, we can stop them. It's time to choose. It's time to get serious.