The British Conservative Party has elected Kemi Badenoch as its leader, becoming the first black woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom. Badenoch succeeds former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose tenure was marked by the Conservatives’ worst electoral performance since 1832.
Kemi Badenoch has been elected as the new leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, a crucial step for the party as it attempts to recover from a significant election defeat that ended its 14 years in power.
Badenoch beat Robert Jenrick in a vote among nearly 100,000 members of the center-right party, making her the first black woman to lead a major British political party. Badenoch succeeds Rishi Sunak, whose leadership resulted in the Conservatives’ worst electoral performance since 1832, with a loss of more than 200 seats, leaving the party with just 121.
The new leader faces the difficult task of rebuilding the party’s reputation after years of division, scandals and economic instability. Kemi Badenoch is expected to effectively criticize Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s policies on crucial issues such as the economy and immigration, while aiming to return the Conservatives to power by the next election, due by 2029.
“The task before us is difficult but simple,” Badenoch said during his victory speech to a gathering of Conservative lawmakers, staffers and journalists in London.
Badenoch continued his victory speech by highlighting two main goals of the Conservative Party. First, by declaring that the party must hold the Labor government to account. Second, they must prepare for the next election by formulating attractive conservative promises and a clear plan to implement them. Badenoch stressed the importance of having a strategy to improve the functioning of government and bring positive changes in the country.
Badenoch was business secretary in the previous Conservative government. Born in London to Nigerian parents, Badenoch spent much of her childhood in Nigeria
This 44-year-old former computer engineer positions herself as a disruptor, advocating for a low-tax market economy. Pledging to “rewire, reboot and reprogram” the UK state to achieve its vision.
A critic of cultural diversity and a fierce opponent of “wokeness”, Badenoch has faced backlash for her recent comments that “not all cultures are equally valid” and for suggesting that maternity benefits are excessive.
The Conservative Party leadership race lasted more than three months, during which lawmakers narrowed the field of candidates from six to the final two, which were then presented to the full party membership. The two finalists, aligned with the right of the party, believe they can win back voters from Reform UK, the far-right anti-immigration party led by Nigel Farage, which is siphoning off support from the Conservatives.
However, the Conservatives have also lost many voters to Labor and the centrist Liberal Democrats, leading some in the party to fear that a shift further to the right could alienate the general public.
