Kemi Badenoch becomes the first black woman to lead the British Conservatives

Badenoch, 44, replaces former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and has pledged to lead the party through a period of renewal after its resounding defeat in July’s British elections. He says the party has moved to the political center by “governing from the left”

Reuters

November 3, 2024, 1:35 PM

Last modified: November 3, 2024, 1:38 PM

Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, London, November 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mina Kim

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Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, London, November 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mina Kim

Kemi Badenoch on Saturday became the new leader of the Conservatives and the first black woman to head a major British political party, after winning a leadership contest promising to return the party to its founding principles.

Badenoch, 44, replaces former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and has pledged to lead the party through a period of renewal after its resounding defeat in July’s British elections.

On the right of the Conservative Party, Badenoch is likely to support policies to shrink the state and challenge what she sees as institutional left-wing thinking, saying it is time to defend the principles of free speech, free enterprise and free markets .

Badenoch becomes the Conservatives’ fifth leader since mid-2016, after winning 57% of the party’s votes in the closing stages of a months-long battle that saw the field of six narrowed to two. She defeated former immigration secretary Robert Jenrick, who won 43% of the vote.

Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed her victory, saying “the first black leader of a Westminster party is a proud moment for our country”.

Badenoch herself has said publicly that she prefers not to focus on her race.

Asked at the Conservative Party conference earlier this year what it would feel like to become the party’s first black woman leader, she said: “I’m someone who doesn’t want the color of our skin to be more important than the color of our hair or the color of our eyes.”

For some black voters in London, a city that favors the Labor Party and has a Labor mayor, support for Badenoch will depend on what she does now as Conservative leader.

“They (the Conservative Party) are not more approachable because of the fact that they now have a black person,” said Imani Samuels, a student. “It’ll just depend on what she does.”

Asked about Badenoch’s comment about her skin color, Samuels responded, “She should be proud of that, and she should come out with her blackness, because to have that position and be black and a woman, it would should be something she is very proud to say. .”

Vaughan Gething became the first black leader of the Welsh Labor Party earlier this year, but resigned as first minister of Wales after just four months following a wave of ministerial resignations in protest at his leadership.

Sunak, of Indian descent, became Britain’s first prime minister of color in October 2022 after winning a race to lead the Conservatives that year.

‘TELL THE TRUTH’

Badenoch promised on Saturday to tackle the problems in the party head-on.

“The time has come to tell the truth,” she told the crowd at the final count of the leadership contest, promising to answer key questions about how the Conservatives lost the July election so badly.

“It’s time to get started, it’s time to innovate.”

With outspoken views on everything from what she calls identity politics to the value of public servants, Badenoch attracts both strong admirers and detractors. She is sure to shake up the Conservatives, who saw their contingent of lawmakers in the 650-seat parliament fall to 121 in July from 365 seats in 2019.

With the Labor government off to a bumpy start, some Conservatives are becoming increasingly optimistic that they can regain power at the next election, due in 2029.

But some more centrist Conservatives worry that Badenoch could alienate not only the more moderate wing of the party, but also some voters won over by the centrist Liberal Democrats at the last election.

The former trade minister’s reign was often marked by disputes with the media, celebrities and her own officials. But her no-nonsense approach has also won over many supporters, including Conservative members who chose her over Jenrick.

“The task ahead is tough, but simple. Our first responsibility as His Majesty’s loyal opposition is to hold this Labor government to account,” she told party members.

“Our second is no less important: it is the preparation over the course of the coming years for the government.”