On Saturday, Kemi Badenoch was successfully elected as the new leader of the Conservative Party, succeeding Rishi Sunak. This marks a significant milestone as she becomes the first individual of African heritage to lead the Tories.
The Conservative Party announced her victory in a post on X on Saturday.
Kemi Badenoch of Nigeria is the first African to win the Conservative Leadership Election in Britain
” ANNOUNCED: @KemiBadenoch has been elected Leader of the Conservative Party,” the party tweeted.
Badenoch, 44, beat Robert Jenrick after a four-month contest after Sunak’s resignation.
The vote saw a turnout of 72% according to Conservative MP Bob Blackman.
Most people said they had not formed an opinion of Ms Badenoch yet, according to a YouGov poll. But 40 per cent of those questioned said they disliked her.
Former justice secretary Robert Buckland during an interview with the National News, said that as a leader Ms Badenoch “will be an excellent person to work with”, having seen her strong character and abilities first-hand when they worked in government together.
“She knows that the party’s values need to be reset and that we’ve got to win trust as without trust, we don’t get anywhere in terms of electoral success,” he added. “I think she better understands that more than most and that’s why she deserved to win.”
The role as opposition leader was an “unenviable task” and Ms Badenoch “will not be under any doubt about the scale of work ahead to win back power”, he added.
“She is the person who had more MP support than any other in the leadership race so people need to knuckle down and get on with the job of opposing the government, not opposing each other.”
He added that he hoped a “new phase in politics” would see Ms Badenoch unite the party and “the Tories regrouping”.
He also suggested that she listen to think tanks and policy units who have the expertise to provide her with new and innovative policies.
“It’s going to be very hard and unglamorous, but I believe Kemi has the strength of spirit to do it,” he told the National News during an interview.
