November 02, (THEWILL) – British-Nigerian Member of Parliament, Kemi Badenoch, has won the contest to lead the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom.
The 44-year-old MP for North West Essex defeated Robert Jenrick to secure the top job, replacing outgoing leader and former Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, who lost the election as the British Prime Minister on July 5.
Badenoch secured 53,806 votes from Conservative Party members, to beat Jenrick, who polled 41,388 votes.
“It is the most enormous honour to be elected to this role”, Badenoch said, giving her maiden speech as party leader shortly after the results were announced on Saturday.
The Conservatives suffered a bruising defeat in the UK’s July 4 general election, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government securing a landslide victory as voters grew weary of ongoing leadership changes and political infighting at the tail end of 14 years of Tory rule.
Badenoch said the Conservatives had to acknowledge its previous errors and change course.
“Our party is critical to the success of our country. But to be heard, we have to be honest. Honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we left standards slip. The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for our future. To reset our politics and our thinking and to give our party and our country the new start that they deserve. It is time to get down to business. It is time to renew”, Badenoch added.
A staunch proponent of Brexit, 4 Badenoch is known for her outspoken views and tough stance on divisive issues such as immigration and rights for transgender people, including in her role as minister for women and equalities.
The former Business Minister had worked in IT and banking before entering the political sphere, gaining election as an MP in 2017 and serving in ministerial roles under three prime ministers.
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