New leader of British Conservatives is first Black woman in the role

 

Kemi Badenoch smiles after being elected as the new leader of the U.K.’s opposition Conservative Party in London on Nov. 2, 2024.

LONDON —

Kemi Badenoch became the Conservatives\’ new leader and the first Black woman to a head a major British political party, after winning a leadership contest Saturday on a promise 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 Britain\’s July election, saying it had veered toward the political center by “governing from the left.”

On the right of the Conservative Party, Badenoch will likely back policies to shrink the state and challenge what she says is 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 party members\’ votes in the final stage of a monthslong contest that saw a field of six whittled to two. She beat a former immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, who received 43% of the votes.

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

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

Asked at the Conservative Party conference earlier this year how it would feel to become the first Black woman leader of the party, she said: “I am somebody who wants the color of our skin to be no more significant than the color of our hair or the color of our eyes.”

Vaughan Gething became the first Black leader of the Welsh Labour Party earlier this year but resigned after four months as the first minister of Wales after a wave of ministerial resignations in protest over his leadership.

‘Tell the truth’

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

“The time has come to tell the truth,” she told the audience at the final count of the leadership contest, promising to answer the main questions over how the Conservatives lost the July election so badly. “It is time to get down to business, it is time to renew.”

With forthright views on issues ranging from what she calls identity politics to the value of officials, Badenoch attracts strong admirers and detractors. She is certain to shake up the Conservatives, who saw their contingent of lawmakers in the 650-seat parliament fall in July to 121 from 365 seats in 2019.

With the Labour government off to a bumpy start, some Conservatives are increasingly optimistic that they could win back power at the next election, which must be held in 2029.

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

The former trade minister\’s time in government 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 the Conservative members who chose her over Jenrick.

“The task that stands before us is tough, but simple,” she told party members. “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.”

 

By：VOA