Kemi Badenoch, anti-woke figure, takes over the leadership of the weakened conservative party

INTERNATIONAL – The British Conservative Party has a new leader. This Saturday, November 2, Kemi Badenoch, defender of a return to “ true conservatism » and a strict policy on immigration, was elected new leader of the party. Born in the United Kingdom to parents of Nigerian origin and raised in this African country, she became the first black woman to lead one of the main political parties in the United Kingdom.

After three months of campaigning, this fierce “ anti-woke » who was considered the favorite of the vote was elected with nearly 57% of the votes, facing Robert Jenrick, also positioned to the right of the party. An election was in fact called after the announcement of the resignation of former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in the wake of the conservatives' historic electoral defeat in the last legislative elections on July 4.

“The time has come to tell the truth, to defend our principles, (…) to rethink our politics and our way of thinking and to give our party and our country the fresh start they deserve”declared Kemi Badenoch in front of party officials just after the announcement of his victory.

“We made mistakes”

This 44-year-old engineer by training, who had already tried, without success, to take the head of the conservative party in 2022, will now have a lot to do to revive the largely weakened Tories after their historic electoral debacle in the last legislative elections.

With 121 elected officials, the party lost two thirds of its deputies in the House of Commons. Voters sanctioned him after 14 years in power, marked by Brexit, so many believe that it has not been the promised success, an austerity policy that has impoverished public services and the scandals of the era of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“We must recognize that we made mistakes”argued Kemi Badenoch on Saturday. His predecessor Rishi Sunak called on the Conservatives to “ unite behind her »in order to “ fight Labor » in power, believing that it will be a “ fantastic leader ». Boris Johnson greeted his “ courage and clarity » and praised the “ necessary dynamism » that she brings to the party.

But many people question her ability to unify and rebuild a very divided party and the relevance of the turn to the right that she seems to want to make it take.

Two battles: immigration and LGBT+ rights

Kemi Badenoch arrives at the head of the Tories with a reputation as an outspoken go-getter, who appeals to the activist base but sometimes bristles even in her own camp. During her campaign she advocated a return to “ true conservatism »without expanding much on his political program.

After a legislative election marked by the rise to power of the far-right Reform UK party, the campaign was dominated by the subject of immigration. Kemi Badenoch made it one of her priorities, stating in particular that she “ was not good » for the country and that “ not all cultures are equal” to justify a more targeted migration policy. An outing which sparked controversy, not the first for this person used to making shocking statements.

Kemi Badenoch above all displays his very conservative position in the debate on the culture wars linked in particular to the rights of LGBT+ people or ethnic minorities. She also said to herself “ skeptical » on the carbon neutrality objective that the United Kingdom has set for itself.

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