“They’ve gone to Labour conference,” she said.
“We used to be teeming with corporate lobbyists, now we are teeming with party members.”
The conference – a four-day event attended by party members – is Badenoch’s first as Conservative leader, having been elected nearly 12 months ago.
She took on the leadership after the party suffered a heavy defeat in the 2024 general election.
So far, the party has failed to improve on its poor poll ratings and performed badly at the local elections earlier this year.
Speaking to the BBC, Badenoch said the party had experienced a “tough defeat at the last election” but added: “We can get through it, we will come through it.”
“There are sunlit uplands ahead.”
She said party members were “thrilled” at the polices announced in the past week including promises to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, repeal the Climate Change Act and cut £47bn from public spending.