Britain’s opposition Conservative Party elects new leader

Britain’s Conservative Party on Saturday elected Kemi Badenoch as its new leader as it tries to rebound from a crushing election defeat in July that ended its 14 years in power.

She defeated fellow right winger, Robert Jenrick, in a vote of the almost 100,000 members of the right-of-centre party, becoming the first Black woman to head a major British political party.

Badenoch, who was born in London of Nigerian parents and spent most of her childhood in Africa, replaces former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The 44-year-old former software engineer depicts herself as a disruptor, arguing for a low-tax and free-market economy.

As the sixth Tory leader in less than nine years, she faces the challenge of uniting the party and has pledged to lead it through a period of renewal.

Badenoch said her first responsibility was to hold Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government to account.

“Our second is no less important. It is to prepare over the course of the next few years for government,” she said.

“To ensure that by the time of the next election, we have not just a clear set of Conservative pledges that appeal to the British people, but a clear plan for how to implement them. A clear plan to change this country by changing the way that government works.”

She said the party needed to bring back voters who had abandoned the Tories, but said to be heard, there was a need “to be honest”.

“We have to be honest, honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we let standards slip. The time has come to tell the truth,” she said.

All eyes will now be on Badenoch as she appoints her top team in the coming days.