She is considered a woman of clear words: Kemi Badenoch is the new leader of the Conservative Party. Can the former business secretary unite the Tories and lead them back to the top?
Kemi Badenoch, as the new leader, is to lead the Conservative Party in Great Britain back into government with a hard right-wing course after the historic defeat in the general election. The Tories’ members elected the former business minister as the successor to ex-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the party announced in London.
Badenoch received 53,806 votes, her rival Robert Jenrick received 41,388. The 44-year-old is the first black woman to head a major British party and only the fourth female Tory leader after Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May and Liz Truss.
“It is the greatest honor to have been elected to this role and to lead a party that I love, the party that has given me so much,” Badenoch said in her acceptance speech. She also paid respect to Sunak: “Nobody could have worked harder in such difficult times,” she said of the former government and party leader. At the same time, she also admitted that the Tories had to be honest with themselves and that they had made mistakes. “It’s time to tell the truth,” Badenoch said.
The new Tory leader received congratulations from both Sunak and her chief political rival, Prime Minister Keir Starmer. She will be an excellent leader, renew the party, stand up for conservative values and take on the fight with the ruling Labor Party, Sunak said on the online platform “a proud moment for our country”.
Badenoch now heads a party that has not calmed down since Brexit. Within a few years, five different prime ministers failed – because they couldn’t get the consequences of leaving the EU under control and, like Boris Johnson, because of scandals.
Since the electoral defeat in July, the Tories – one of the most successful democratic parties in Western Europe for decades – only make up 121 of the 650 MPs in the London House of Commons. The loss of trust among voters is immense. Badenoch must now ensure stability and unity.
But that might be difficult. Badenoch is considered a woman of clear words, regardless of person or office. Like Jenrick, the former migration state secretary who defeated her, she is considered a representative of the right wing of the party. A total of six applicants competed. However, moderate candidates such as former Interior Minister James Cleverly were eliminated from the parliamentary group’s votes before the members had the final say.
The conservatives are increasingly transforming themselves from a center-right force into a radical right-wing populist party, said political scientist Tim Bale of the German Press Agency. What policy does the expert from Queen Mary University of London expect? Demands for as little government interference as possible, with a nationalist and anti-immigrant tone and against climate neutrality.
Born in London but raised in Nigeria, her parents’ home country, Badenoch is considered a darling of the party’s base. The computer scientist, who studied computer science, revealed few details about her political plans during the party’s internal election campaign.
The 44-year-old has long portrayed herself as an “anti-woke culture warrior” who stands out with statements against the supposedly left-liberal establishment. Even during her time as Minister for Equal Rights – she held the office in addition to her other cabinet post – the mother of three children was critical of gender issues, among other things, and advocated against an increase in maternity pay.
