The UK Conservative Party on Saturday (local time) elected Kemi Badenoch as the new leader of the party, Euro News reported. This was a historic moment in Britain’s political landscape as she became the first black woman to lead a major political party there.
Kemi Badenoch replaces former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, under whose leadership the Conservatives experienced their worst electoral performance since 1832 in the recent general election, where Keir Starmer won from the Labor Party.
Under the leadership of Rishi Sunak, the party lost more than 200 seats and was left with only 121 seats in the House of Commons.
He won against Robert Jenrick in a vote involving about 100,000 party members, Euro News reported. He took office as the Conservatives were trying to recover from a significant election defeat that ended their 14 years in power. It is over.
The new leader faces the tough challenge of restoring the party’s reputation amid ongoing divisions, scandals and economic instability. Kemi Badenoch will need to effectively criticize Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s policies, particularly on issues such as the economy and immigration, as she aims to return the Conservatives to power by the next election, anticipated in 2029, Euro News reports. Have to bring.
During her victory speech in London, Kemi Badenoch outlined her two primary goals for the party, saying, “The work before us is difficult but simple”: holding the Labor government to account and crafting attractive Conservative policies for the next Preparing for elections. With a clear implementation strategy, Euro News reports.
Previously, Kemi Badenoch served as Business Secretary in the former Conservative government. Born in London to Nigerian parents, she spent most of her childhood in Nigeria.
At 44, the former software engineer bills herself as a disruptor, advocating a low-tax, free-market economy and pledging to “rewire, reboot and reprogram” the British state.
Kemi Badenoch has been a critic of cultural diversity and has faced criticism for her statements that “not all cultures are equally valid” and that maternity pay is excessive.
The Conservative leadership contest lasted three months, with MPs narrowing the field from six candidates to two finalists in an attempt to narrow the party’s broader membership. Both finalists have aligned with the party’s right, seeking to reclaim support from Reform UK, a hard-right party led by Nigel Farage that is drawing voters away from the Conservatives.
However, the Conservatives have also seen voter losses to Labor and the centrist Liberal Democrats, leading some party members to express concern that a shift to the right could alienate wider voters.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
