Kemi Badenoch has repeatedly refused to say whether she admires Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby, the Tory leader said she did not “understand the question” when asked if she held her rival in high regard.
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Asked what she thought of Mr Farage, whose party is currently leading in the polls, Ms Badenoch replied: “I think it’s very interesting that a lot of the media in Westminster is very interested about asking about Nigel Farage.
“I’m not interested in Nigel Farage, I’m interested in the Conservative Party.”
Ms Badenoch was speaking against the backdrop of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, where the party has announced a string of policies, including a promise to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and “ICE-style” deportations if she wins the next election.
The announcements have been interpreted as an attempt to respond to the threat posed by Reform, who have already announced plans to leave the ECHR and carry out mass deportations.
Last month, they also vowed to scrap indefinite leave to remain, which gives people the right to settle, work and study in the UK and claim benefits, and to make obtaining British citizenship the only route to permanent residence in Britain.
However, the Conservatives have sought to use their conference to distinguish themselves from Reform, branding their spending plans “socialist”.
It comes despite a poll of Tory members by YouGov showing that 64% support an electoral pact with Reform, while almost half of Tory members – 46% – would support a full-blown merger.
Speaking to Sky News, Ms Badenoch admitted there was “a lot we could do better” given the Conservatives had dropped in the polls from 26% to 17% and her personal poll ratings stood at -47.
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But she said: “I don’t let these things distract me. The fact of the matter is that last year we lost in a historic defeat. We never had so few MPs, and it’s going to take time to come back from that.
“I am absolutely determined to get our party out of this, but I always said that things would get worse before they got better because we’d be out of government.”
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The conference has been dominated by questions of collaboration with Reform, after 20 Tory councillors announced they were defecting to Reform – on top of the eight who have moved to Nigel Farage’s party since March.
On Monday, Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said he believed the Conservatives and Reform needed to work together.
“I’ve made it clear all the way through, and nothing has changed, that I am for the Conservatives and Reform working together,” he told GB News.
“We need right-of-centre unity to defeat the left.
“If that means the Conservatives and Reform working together, we should do it. I don’t see Reform as our enemies. It’s a split on the right, and we need to come together.”
Put to her that the Tories may need to work with Reform, Ms Badenoch ruled out a pact and told Beth Rigby: “I’m not interested in doing pacts. I was not elected to have a pact with Reform.
“I was elected to change the Conservative Party, make it clear what we stand for and that’s what I’ve done at this conference.
“Robert Jenrick is not the leader of the Conservative Party, neither is Andrew Rosindell. I am.”
