Kemi Badenoch Elected As New Leader of UK Conservative Party
By: Damilola Phillips
Former British Business Secretary, Kemi Badenoch has been elected as the new leader of United Kingdom's opposition party, Conservative Party, defeating Robert Jenrick in the final round of voting.
OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News gathered that Badenoch is the first black woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom and takes charge of a Conservative Party that is struggling after its worst-ever defeat in an election.
Badenocl succeeds Rishi Sunak as leader of the opposition after winning 53,806 votes against Jenrick’s 41,388, in a result announced by the party on Saturday morning.
During her campaign, Badenoch pledged to return the Conservatives to “first principles” and launch a series of reviews in the coming months to shape a new policy platform.
OTN News reports that the North West Essex MP is also the sixth Tory leader in less than eight and a half years who is now, as the new leader of other party, faced with the challenge of uniting a fractured party.
The time has come to tell the truth,” Badenoch declared to supporters at the final count of the leadership contest, which ended on Saturday. “It is time to get down to business, it is time to renew.”
Despite the challenges, Badenoch’s no-nonsense approach has earned her a loyal base among Conservatives.
She has a history of tense interactions with media figures, celebrities, and even some government officials during her time as a trade minister, but this has only bolstered her support among members who are wary of institutional and media influences.
In addition, OTN News gathered that the new Conservative Party leader has a reputation for being outspoken and frankly ventilating her positions on identity politics, having a desire to reduce state influence of which, she appeals to a significant faction within the party that believes a decisive rightward turn is necessary to reconnect with disillusioned voters.
Speaking on the significance of her emergency as the new leader of the party and her ambitions for the party, Badenoch revealed that “The task that stands before us is tough but simple. Our first responsibility as His Majesty’s loyal opposition is to hold this Labour government to account. Our second is no less important; it is to prepare over the course of the next few years for government.”
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