Conservative leadership contender Kemi Badenoch speaks on the final day of the Conservative Party convention at the Birmingham ICC Arena on October 2, 2024 in Birmingham, England.
Dan Kitwood | Getty Images News | getty images
LONDON — Britain’s opposition Conservative Party appointed right-wing Kemi Badenoch as its new leader on Saturday, ending a long runoff election and marking a moment of reckoning for the party after the Conservatives’ crushing election defeat.
Badenoch replaced outgoing leader and former chancellor Rishi Sunak, ousting Robert Jenrick and securing the top job.
“It is my greatest honor to be elected to this role,” Badenoch said in his first speech as party leader shortly after the results were announced.
The decision came after an initial shortlist of six candidates narrowed the votes of Tory members (MPs) to two to four rounds during the three-month primary.
The final winner was decided by Conservative MPs, with Badenoch receiving 53,806 votes and Jenrick receiving 41,388. Voter turnout was 72.8%.
The victory in Badenoch confirms Britain’s oldest political party has moved further to the right, suggesting it could take a harder-line approach to the immigration, climate action and cultural politics it opposes.
Badenoch and fellow right-wing candidate Jenrick were seen as unlikely opponents in the final vote, with some lawmakers suggesting that a tactical vote to undermine their least favorite figure instead backfired on former frontrunner and more centrist rival James Cleverly .
The Conservative Party suffered a painful defeat in the UK general election on July 4, when Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor government won a landslide victory. This is because voters are tired of continuous leadership changes and political infighting as the Tory Party’s 14-year rule is coming to an end.
Badenoch said the Conservatives needed to acknowledge their previous errors and change course.
“Our party is critical to the success of our country. But if we’re going to listen, we have to be honest. We have to be honest about the fact that we’ve made mistakes, we’ve got to be honest about the fact that we’ve broken standards,” she stressed on Saturday. I did it.
“The time has come to tell the truth, stand up for our principles, and chart our future. It is time to reset our politics and thinking, and give our party and our country the fresh start they deserve. Now is the time to get back to business. It’s time to do it,” Badenoch added.
Who is Kemi Badenoch?
British-born Badenoch grew up in Nigeria and worked in IT and finance before entering British politics and being elected to the House of Commons in 2017. She has held ministerial positions under three prime ministers, including business secretary.
Badenoch, 44, a staunch supporter of Brexit, is known for her outspoken views and hard-line stances on divisive issues such as transgender rights and immigration, including as Minister for Women and Equalities.
Badenoch, in his second leadership race in two years after coming fourth in a 2022 runoff election, has vowed to reset the Conservative Party, arguing it has become too similar to Labor and proposing softer state intervention and a greater focus on families. .
Her strong political views have sparked controversy over the years, but her recent comments on maternity pay sparked a backlash for “going too far” and her suggestion that “not all cultures are equally valid” has led to her so-called culture as a whole. The image has been strengthened. warrior.
Conservative leadership candidate Robert Jenrick speaks during a ‘Meet the Leaders’ event on the third day of the Conservative Party conference at Birmingham ICC in Birmingham, England, October 1, 2024.
Ian Forsythe | Getty Images News | getty images
Badenoch’s opponent Jenrick was once a close ally of Sunak, who began his political career as a centrist figure. Since then, he has worked with the right wing of his party to make restoring control of Britain’s borders a core principle of his leadership.
The 42-year-old former lawyer resigned as immigration minister in December 2023, claiming Sunak’s Rwanda legislation did not go far enough. He has also pledged to withdraw Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights to expedite deportations and has taken increasingly hardline, sometimes controversial, positions.
What does this mean for a Labor government?
With Labor holding the second-highest number of parliamentary seats in history, this leadership victory is unlikely to have an immediate impact on the current government.
It is possible that a new Conservative leader will no longer be in office until Britain elects its next government in up to five years.
Sunak said Badenoch would be a “great leader” and urged his party to unite behind her.
“She will renew our party, champion conservative values and fight Labor,” he wrote in a social media post.
A rejuvenated opposition party will be better placed to put pressure on Starmer, who described the election of the Westminster party’s first black leader as a “proud moment” for the country, and to rebuke some of his key policies.
“As Her Majesty’s loyal government, our first responsibility is to hold this Labor government to account. Our second responsibility is no less important. It is to prepare for the next few years of government,” Badenoch said. said Saturday.
With Brexit supporter Nigel Farage returning to the political fray in June and his Reform UK Party scoring a surprise election victory, the Conservatives may move further to the right to prevent further election defeats. .
Some analysts have suggested that the newly reformed Tories could work with the Reform Party’s Farage to bolster support. “Never say never” about this, Farage said.
