Kemi Badenoch becomes the new leader of the British Conservatives, becoming the first black woman to hold the position

Authors: Elizabeth Piper and Andrew MacAskill

LONDON (Reuters): Kemi Badenoch became the new leader of the Conservatives on Saturday and the first black woman to lead a major British political party, after winning the leadership contest on a promise to return the party to its founding principles.

Badenoch, 44, replaces former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and vowed to lead the party through a period of renewal following its abject defeat in July’s British elections, saying it had moved towards the political center by “ruling from the left”.

Badenoch’s right-wing Conservative Party is likely to support policies aimed at shrinking the state and challenging what it says is institutional leftist thinking, arguing that it is time to defend the principles of free speech, free enterprise and free markets.

Badenoch becomes the fifth Conservative leader since mid-2016 after winning 57% of party members’ votes in the final stage of a month-long contest that saw the field of six candidates whittled down to two. She defeated former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who won 43% of the vote.

Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed her victory, saying “the party’s first black leader in Westminster is a proud moment for our country.”

Badenoch herself has publicly stated that she prefers not to focus on her race.

Asked at the Conservative Party conference earlier this year what it would be like to become the first black woman to lead the party, she replied: “I am a person 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 Labor Party earlier this year, but resigned as First Minister of Wales after just four months following a wave of ministerial resignations in protest at his leadership.

“TELL THE TRUTH”

Badenoch promised on Saturday that he would immediately address the party’s problems.

“It’s time to tell the truth,” she told the audience at the end of the leadership contest, promising to answer major questions about how the Conservatives lost the July election so badly.

“It’s time to get to work, time to renew your competences.”

With outspoken views on everything from what he calls identity politics to the value of officials, Badenoch attracts both ardent admirers and detractors. It is certain to shock the Conservatives, whose quota of lawmakers in the 650-seat parliament fell to 121 in July from 365 seats in 2019.

With the Labor government off to a rocky start, some Conservatives are increasingly optimistic that they will be able to regain power at the next election, which must be held in 2029.

But some more centrist Conservatives fear that Badenoch could alienate not only the more moderate wing of the party, but also some voters who were won over by the centrist Liberal Democrats in 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 also won many supporters, including members of the Conservative Party who chose her over Jenrick.

“The task before us is difficult but simple. Our first duty, as His Majesty’s loyal opposition, is to hold the Labor government to account,” she told party members.

“Our second goal is no less important: it is to prepare in the next few years to serve as a government.”

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Sarah Young and Andrew MacAskill Editing by Frances Kerry)