Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch admitted today that her party faces the “most difficult election ever” when the county council goes to the polls in May.

But she said the Conservatives - who have a massive majority at County Hall - still represents the best value for money and delivery at local government level.

The Tories currently have around three quarters of the 81 seats at Kent County Council.

Mrs Badenoch was speaking on a visit to TPS Global Logistics in Aylesford, near Maidstone.

She met staff and apprentices at the hub, winner of Queen’s and King’s awards for enterprise, which distributes health and beauty products.

She said: “These are going to be very difficult local elections. We need to look at the record of the local council, these are county council elections and Conservative councils deliver the best best value for money and they are the best at delivery.

“This is not a TV show where you vote and the winner gets a prize and it’s all over. People have to live with what they vote for.

“So what we are reminding people is that at local government we are still the best party there and we are asking the question, ‘who do you want running your local services’?

“If people want to send a message to the Labour government then the best option is to vote Conservative.”

Kent was reduced from 16 to just six MPs at last July’s general election and Mrs Badenoch pulled no punches in light of the historic defeat.

She said: “It’s quite clear the Conservatives had their worst election results ever - worse than 1997 - and the reason why that happened is we made a lot of announcements without plans which and is what all the other parties are doing.

“We have learnt the lessons and acknowledged the mistakes we have made and what we need to do now is rebuild trust with the public.

“It will take time and it’s going to take a lot more than a few months. These local elections are going to be the most difficult we have ever had because four years ago we were on a high.

“There was a Covid bounce that the Prime Minister had; we were winning seats like Hartlepool which had never been Conservative in its history.

“But that also goes to show that polls are merely a reflection of what’s happening in the moment.

“Things change very quickly and what I am working on is rebuilding trust with the British public and show the Conservatives are the only credible alternative.”

Asked about housebuilding in Kent, Mrs Badenoch said: “We do need homes in this country. There are many young people who want homes.

“The important thing is to ensure the homes are in the right places, that they are affordable and we don’t have too much demand especially when it comes to immigration as well as making sure we have the right supply.”

Rishi Sunak said in a BBC interview yesterday (Mar 5) that the “Stop the Boats” slogan was “too stark and “too binary”.

Reacting to his comments, Mrs Badenoch said: “The Conservative Party is under new leadership. Rishi Sunak may have his views about his time in government but at the end of the day we lost the election.

“It was an historic defeat and I need to talk about the future. He is very, very welcome to talk about the past as is his right.

“We need a third country deterrent. The Rwanda plan was one that I supported and we put that to the electorate but there were far too many things that counted against after 14 years in government.

“But if we don’t have a third country plan - it doesn’t have to be Rwanda - then there is going to be a continued pull factor into the UK. Once people get here there is a conveyor belt to getting British citizenship.

“So our big policy at the minute is to scrap the rules around indefinite leave to remain and people have to wait a significant amount of time before they get on that conveyor belt and they are people who are contributing to British society and not a burden on it.”

Kent failed to make it onto the Labour government’s planned devolution and local government reform programme but Mrs Badenoch said changes should be “bottom up not top down”.

She added: “Devolution in of itself is not a solution, it is a process. It’s what people do with it afterwards that makes the difference.”

Asked if Kent was in need of devolution, the opposition leader said: “I don’t know enough about Kent. You can ask me about Essex - I am an Essex MP.”

Earlier on her visit, Mrs Badenoch spoke to five apprentices at TPS Global Logistics - Paige Carpenter, Katie Mills, Rebekah Paton, Sam Brown and Amy Pope - and shared experiences of such a training scheme when she was younger.

When one asked about her journey into frontline politics, she said: “This is the great thing about this country because you can do what you are good at and there’s never setting a ceiling for yourself.”

But she was told by business owner Matt Smith, MD at TPS Global Logistics, that his business has seen a downturn in consumer and customer spending with interest rates increasing.

“Pressure on businesses will be piled on further next month with the changes to national insurance contributions,” he said.

Tory leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, Cllr Matt Boughton, said: “I am very pleased to have the leader of the opposition in Tonbridge and Malling, recognising the importance of local businesses to the regional local economy.”