EXCLUSIVE: Kemi Badenoch 'caught red handed' trying to pass Tories off as ordinary voters in video
Kemi Badenoch has been mocked after sharing a clip showing her visiting a woman's home and talking about stamp duty - only for it to emerge that two people who took part are Tory councillors
Kemi Badenoch has been accused of trying to pass Tories off as members of the public in a shameless social media stunt.
The under-fire Tory leader shared a video of herself and James Cleverly visiting the home of a woman angry about stamp duty. Although the clip does not make it clear, the woman who greets them at the door is Seena Shah, who stood for the Conservatives in the 2019 general election.
In the video Ms Shah is seen telling Ms Badenoch and Mr Cleverly that she had friends who put off having more children because of stamp duty. Listening intently was Louise McKinlay - Conservative deputy leader of Essex County Council - who was also not identified.
A Labour source said: "Kemi Badenoch has been caught red-handed trying to pretend that the chair of a local Conservative association is an ordinary member of the public in a staged video. If the Conservatives have to resort to using their own activists to endorse their policies, it says everything about how desperate they’ve become.”
Ms Shah shared the video on her Instagram account - which identifies her role in the Conservative Party. The clip shows her telling the Tory leader and Shadow Housing Secretary: "I know people that are choosing not to have a second child because they can't afford a bigger home. That's that's a really big life decision to not have the family that you really would love to have."
Ms McKinlay nodded as a man sitting next to her told the group: "Our next move would be our forever move. And then Labour won the election. And I looked at my wife and went 'we're going nowhere for a while because I know what's coming.'"
Ms Shah, who was Tory candidate for Brentford & Isleworth in 2019, and is currently a councillor, wrote on her Instagram: "Today, Kemi popped round for some tea and we had a chat about how hardworking aspirational people are losing faith in the British economy and how abolishing stamp duty will bring more opportunity and choices back."
Mrs Badenoch has pledged to abolish stamp duty if the Tories ever get back into power. She made the announcement in her leaders' speech at the Tory Party conference in Manchester earlier this month.
She said in the video: "We think it's something that could be life changing for so many people. And that's why Conservatives will abolish stamp duty the first opportunity we have."
Mrs Badenoch tagged Ms McKinlay when she posted the clip on social - but did not tag Ms Shah.
The Mirror has contacted Tory HQ and Ms McKinlay for comment.
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