UK Tories elect Badenoch as new leader
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"Anti-woke" candidate Kemi Badenoch defeated former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, receiving 57% of the Tory party's votes.
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Britain's Member of Parliament Kemi Badenoch speaks after being elected as the new leader of the opposition Conservative Party in London on November 2, 2024. (AP)
The UK's Tory party elected Kemi Badenoch as their next leader on Saturday, making her the first Black leader of a major British party.
"Anti-woke" candidate Badenoch was the frontrunner to succeed former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who stepped down following a significant electoral defeat on July 5.
The former equalities minister faces the tough task of rebuilding a fractured and weakened party that was decisively ejected from power in July after 14 years in office.
Badenoch, 44, defeated former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, receiving 57% of the party's votes. She called it an "enormous honor" to take on the post but acknowledged that the task ahead is difficult.
"We have to be honest about the fact we made mistakes" and "let standards slip," according to Badenoch. "It is time to get down to business, it is time to renew," she stated.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Badenoch, stating on X that "the first Black leader of a Westminster party is a proud moment for our country."
Sunak described Badenoch as a "superb leader", while former Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that she "brings a much-needed zing and zap to the Conservative Party."
Badenoch will become the formal opposition leader and lead a significantly reduced number of Tory MPs following the party's poor performance in the election. She must devise a strategy to rebuild public trust while addressing the rise of support for the right-wing Reform UK party, headed by Brexit champion Nigel Farage.
Born in London to Nigerian parents and raised in Lagos, Badenoch has advocated for a return to conservative values, criticizing her party for becoming overly liberal on social issues like gender identity. She stated, "We talked right but governed left."
She was severely chastised for claiming that compulsory maternity pay for small companies was "excessive", and she provoked even more outrage when she quipped that up to 10% of Britain's half a million public officials were so awful they "should be in prison." Regarding immigration, she stated that "not all cultures are equally valid" when determining who should be permitted to settle in the UK.
According to Blue Ambition, a biography by Conservative peer Michael Ashcroft, Badenoch became "radicalized" into right-wing politics during her university years in the UK, perceiving student activists as the "spoiled, entitled, privileged metropolitan elite-in-training."
Known for her direct communication style, Badenoch has sparked controversy during her campaign. In discussions about immigration, she remarked, "Our country is not a dormitory for people to come here and make money" and noted that "not all cultures are equally valid" in determining who should be permitted to reside in the UK.
