Kemi Badenoch is the new Conservative leader

On November 2 Mrs Badenoch was elected leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party commonly called the Tories. She won 54% of the votes cast by ordinary party members. Her rival in the final ballot was Robert Jenrick. Conservative MPs narrowed down the field from six to the final two. Only two candidates were allowed on the ballot that the grassroots voted on.

Rishi Sunak has now stood down as leader of the party after a tumultuous two years. He has indicated that he wishes to remain an MP.

The election of Badenoch is a first in that she is the first black person to lead a British political party. She is the fourth woman to lead the Conservative Party. Labour has never been led by a female. Every other UK party has had a female leader.

Kemi Badenoch faces a very testing task indeed. Her party has only 122 MPs. At least 326 are needed to form a government. In the July 2024 election, the Conservatives lost two-thirds of their MPs.

Labour has a huge majority with 410 MPs. Labour won 70% of the seats with only 34% of the votes. The Conservatives won 24% of the votes. In terms of seats and votes it was the worst result for that party ever. Ever!

Labour has such a big majority it is all but impossible to overturn that majority in a single election. The Tories have several serious problems. The party has almost no votes among those under the 30s. The party is not popular among the ethnic minorities who are growing as a % of the population. The Conservatives have retreated into their rural heartlands.

There is reason for the Tories to take heart. Not even four months into the Labour Government and Labour is less popular than the Tory Party. The honeymoon has vanished. Keir Starmer has a negative approval rating. A number of unforced errors have hurt the Labour Party badly.

The Tories have to contend with a threat from Reform UK. This is an insurgent right-wing party. How does the party win back people who defected to Reform UK? Moreover, the Tories need to win back swing voters who switched to the Liberal Democrats and even Labour.

Kemi Badenoch will announce her Shadow Cabinet next week. She said she would offer a seat to all her leadership competitors. James Cleverly said he shan’t serve in anyone’s Shadow Cabinet.

Kemi Badenoch is of a sunny disposition. She is an effective media performer and difficult to dislike. She is seen as being on the right of the party. She is anti-woke and advocated fervently for the Rwanda Plan: that those who come to the United Kingdom illegally be deported to Rwanda.

Left-wingers have subjected Kemi Badenoch to racist bile. They cannot abide a black person who does not subscribe to anti-white bigotry.

One of the most alarming things about Kemi B is her advocacy of Israel’s campaign of terror against Palestinian civilians. She has applauded these crimes.

Kemi was born in London to upper-middle-class Nigerian parents. She is a British citizen. She was schooled in Nigeria and the United States. At 16 she returned to the United Kingdom. She studied IT at the University of Sussex and then law at the University of London. She worked in banking and married a fellow banker. The pair were blessed with a brace of children. In 2017 Kemi was elected MP for Saffron Walden.

It is very hard to see the Tories winning the next election. This must be held by the end of August 2029. Elections are usually called a bit early.

The Conservatives have had seven leaders in 10 years. The party will be loathe to change leader again before a General Election.

It is probable that Kemi will lead the party to a defeat in four years and be forced to step down. She could still hold a major cabinet role when the party returns to office.

Kemi B had tried for the leadership in 2022 but was knocked out early.