Kemi Badenoch has pitched the Tories as the party of “common sense” as she begins the Conservative conference with a raft of policy pledges on tightening welfare, increasing prison space, and free childcare for higher-earning parents.

The Tory leader cast herself as the “no-nonsense mum” to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s “cheesy uncle” as she insisted the Opposition had changed under her leadership after suffering its worst ever electoral defeat in 2024.

Dismissing suggestions that her focus on cutting benefits and building more prisons signalled a return of the Conservatives as the so-called “nasty party”, she said: “It’s the common sense party. That’s what we’re doing.

“And, quite frankly, if we were doing so well the old way, then why did we have such a terrible issue in 2024?”

She told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “I am a classic old-school conservative. I believe in common sense: people working hard and being rewarded for that effort.”

Despite wanting to draw a clear line under mistakes of the past, Mrs Badenoch said some principles were “timeless” and should continue to guide the party.

“The principles and the values never change,” she said.

“Personal responsibility is not a 1980s idea.”

Asked how she would characterise herself and Labour leader Mr Burnham after she described Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as a “grumpy grandpa”, she said: “Andy Burnham is the cheesy uncle. I think he’s the cheesy uncle who does all the dad jokes.

“And what am I? Someone else has to do that. It’s very difficult… They probably see me, you know, as the no-nonsense mum. No nonsense, (that’s) probably me.”

The Conservatives have made a series of policy announcements in the days approaching the annual party conference in Birmingham, as they seek to broaden their platform for government ahead of the next general election.

The party has pledged to end a childcare “cliff edge”, which currently means parents earning more than £100,000 do not qualify for the entitlement.

All parents working 16 or more hours a week would be eligible to get 30 hours of free care a week under the Tories’ proposals.

The policy is estimated to cost £700 million a year, which party officials say could be funded by cutting the number of public servants at arms-length bodies.

Mrs Badenoch indicated people earning as much as £1 million a year would still be eligible for the entitlement but insisted the pledge was targeted at earners around the £100,000 threshold.

Asked whether the policy should be tapered or means-tested in some way to avoid taxpayers subsidising incredibly wealthy parents, she told the BBC: “I believe that the number of people who have very small children who are earning tens of millions of pounds is negligible.

“What I think we need to focus on is the reality of most people out at work today, and what you’re going to see at this conference is how we’re having policies for everybody.

“Whether you don’t earn, whether you earn a little, whether you earn a bit, whether you earn a lot, we want everyone in this country to know that if you are out there working, the Conservative Party has got a plan for you that we’re going to get fit and working again.”

Elsewhere, the Tories also announced a plan to tighten access to student loans for non-UK nationals – a policy they say would save the taxpayer £900 million a year.

The proposals would also block EU Settled Status (EUSS) claims, a system the Tories said is being “abused”.

The Tories have also pledged to deliver 50,000 new prison places by slashing the overseas aid budget to £1 billion a year in a bid to end the early release of offenders.

Over the 14 years the Conservatives were in power, around 500 net prison places were created, which takes into account 14,142 added in existing and new jails, as well as 13,660 lost mainly to dilapidation and closures.

The early release of offenders that began under the Tories to ease jail overcrowding has been continued by the Labour Government, which Mrs Badenoch accused of letting out “dangerous” criminals and “papering over the cracks” in the system.

The party leader also hinted she was open to cutting inheritance tax but only if it were fiscally responsible, describing the move as “morally right” in an interview with the Sunday Times.

Amid questions over the Conservatives’ long-term commitment to the triple lock policy after senior party figures including former chancellor Jeremy Hunt, shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat and shadow housing secretary Katie Lam suggested it was unsustainable, Mrs Badenoch insisted the Tories were “keeping” the policy.

Asked about Ms Lam’s comments, the Tory leader said: “She is not wrong about growth, we are not growing.

“But why is she saying that? Because we’re not growing. We keep avoiding the fundamental question about growing the economy.”

Mrs Badenoch arrived at the conference on Saturday afternoon, her second as Conservative Party leader, at which she will hope to set in motion a platform to reverse the party’s fortunes after losses in this and last year’s local elections.

As she arrived, she was asked by reporters about the public’s opinion of the Tories, who find themselves behind Labour in the polls despite an uptick in her personal approval ratings.

She replied: “I think that people will see that we have gone on a journey. We’re not the party that the public said no to in 2024. We are a new Conservative Party.

“I’ve got a strong team. So much of my shadow cabinet are here, and they are going to be showing all the wonderful plans we have to get this country working again.”