Kemi Badenoch (London, 44 years old) is the first to downplay the importance of being black and a woman, but the spokesman for the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom, Bob Blackman, who this Saturday announced the result of the primaries and the proclaimed as the new leader of the opposition, she was in charge of highlighting these two conditions.
Nothing excites the British right more than giving the impression that it breaks conventions. That their principles and values manage to attract a much broader parish than that of white English men. They already had a Hindu prime minister, Rishi Sunak. Now they have chosen a politician of Nigerian origin, the daughter of immigrants, and who symbolizes better than any other candidate the Thatcherite spirit of calling a spade a spade and going with the truth—her truth, at least—first.
The party’s members have elected a feisty woman, a defender of Brexit since its inception, who boasts of going with the truth first, although she has sometimes made blunders, and whose firmness in speech manages to convey the sensation of being burdened with common sense.
His direct statements and continuous attacks on the left in the so-called cultural wars (gender identity, trans movement, multiculturalism, etc…) have made Badenoch a popular character in the most right wing of the party. Married to Hamish Badenoch, of Irish origin and current CEO of Deutsche Bank, the couple has two daughters and a son.
“Our party is essential for this country to move forward, but to be heard, we must first be honest. Honest in the face of the reality that we have made mistakes. Honest about the fact that we let our standards drop significantly. “The time has come to tell the truth,” Badenoch told the two hundred guests who attended the winner’s announcement ceremony.
Badenoch obtained almost 54,000 votes from members in the final round, compared to those achieved by his rival, Robert Jenrick (41,000). The former Secretary of State for Immigration, whose resignation accelerated the crisis of Rishi Sunak’s Government, was the favorite of the pools throughout the primary process.
The party’s bases, however, have decided not to reward the career of a weather-beaten politician whose wandering career revealed a notable dose of opportunism. Jenrick began as a young moderate conservative, opposed to Brexit, to end up under the orbit of Boris Johnson and, later, to represent the most extreme right of the party. It was he who defended a greater rapprochement with the populist Nigel Farage and his Reform UK party, today the main threat of the tories; It was Jenrick who proposed that the United Kingdom bypass international legality and stop abiding by the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights; and it was he, finally, who came to say that the British army was forced to kill the terrorists it captured to prevent the international court from releasing them.
Graduated in Engineering from the University of Sussex and in Law from Birkbeck College, she used the first of her two university degrees during the primary campaign as the flag of her proclaimed resolve and effectiveness: “Politicians pretend that everything is possible, and they make promises. that they cannot comply with,” he said. “They promise big changes without planning them first. Engineers, on the other hand, accept reality. The engineers are honest. Engineers make things possible. “I am an engineer,” she proclaimed.
Toughness against irregular immigration
His speech against irregular immigration, however, was as harsh as that of his rival, although with a built-in pragmatism that led him to propose simple and demagogic solutions such as breaking with the European Court of Human Rights. He has proposed the expulsion of immigrants who are convicted of committing crimes, as well as giving priority to nationals in terms of housing, social benefits or schooling. “Our country cannot be a dormitory for those who come to make money or a hotel for those who are passing through,” he has repeated all these months.
The Conservatives decided to take it easy on the election of their new leader, after the resounding defeat they suffered at the hands of the Labor Party and its candidate, Keir Starmer, on July 4. The entire summer and much of the fall have passed until they have decided to put the reins of the party in the hands of Badenoch.
They even allowed former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to give the reply this week to the Minister of the Economy, Rachel Reeves, in the presentation of the budgets, the first major parliamentary debate of the current legislature. There was no rush. They are aware of the desert crossing that lies ahead. In fact, the new leader toryused as a primary campaign slogan Project 2030convinced as she is that the conservatives need to rebuild themselves thoroughly if they really aspire to regain power.
“The time has come to tell the truth, to defend our principles, to plan for the future, to renew our policies and our thoughts, and to offer the party and the country the new beginning that they both deserve. The time has come to get to work,” Badenoch told his team.
