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Calls for resignation are not serious - Badenoch

Simon Dedman
BBC political reporter, East of England
PA Media Kemi Badenoch holding her hands in the air. She is wearing a black blazer over a blue top, and has her mouth open while speaking in a sitting room at a hospice.PA Media
Kemi Badenoch said she was not quitting at "the first sign of trouble"

Kemi Badenoch said calls for her to resign as leader of the Conservative party after the local elections were "just not serious".

The party lost 674 councillors when voters went to the polls on 1 May, surrendering control of 16 local authorities.

Badenoch, MP for North West Essex, told the BBC she had a "long-term plan" and "knew I was going to take things slowly".

Her comments followed Jason Smithers, the former Tory leader of North Northamptonshire Council, arguing: "She should be reg."

Two-thirds of the seats defended by the Tories last week were lost to rivals, with the party receiving its lowest vote share in an election at 15%.

Badenoch said her mission as leader was to "rebuild" the Conservatives.

"What kind of leader would I be if I just quit at the first sign of trouble":[]}