The Tories lost Clacton on a huge swing to Farage at the 2024 general election, but now face an opportunity to snatch the seaside constituency back.
However, Badenoch repeatedly declined to say if the Tories would stand a candidate, saying only that the party’s plans would be revealed in due course.
“I don’t need to respond to what is one man’s gimmick. This is a gimmick,” the Tory leader said. “It’s a waste of taxpayers’ money. He doesn’t want to follow due process.”
Farage is hoping to turn the contest into an anti-establishment fightback amid a probe into his finances, but he faces the relatively new complication of a second right-wing challenger, Restore Britain.
Badenoch said: “He is a man who is cracking under pressure. That’s why he was shouting at journalists yesterday. And what we have to ask ourselves is, is this someone who can do the top job? He hasn’t become prime minister yet, and he’s already cracking under the pressure.”