Skip to main content

Who is Kemi Badenoch, the first black woman to lead the UK Conservatives?

World News

Submitted by Editor on
Back

Who is Kemi Badenoch, the first black woman to lead the UK Conservatives?

Source: Women's Agenda

Kemi Badenoch has become the new leader of the UK Conservatives and the first black woman to lead a major political party in the UK.

Badenoch, 44, replaces Rishi Sunak as leader and has promised to lead the party through a period of renewal following its election loss to the Labour Party in July.

Badenoch won 53,806 votes from party members to win the leadership over former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who won 41,388 votes. 

Badenoch’s leadership will mark a shift to the right for the Conservatives. She has told supporters it’s time to “get down to business”.

“The task that stands before us is tough, but simple, our first responsibility as his majesty’s loyal opposition is to hold this Labour government to account,” she told party members after winning the vote.

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

Badenoch is the sixth Tory leader in less than 9 years. She has a professional background in banking and IT and became an MP in 2017.

She has talked about returning the party to “first principles”, and has been described as having a no-nonsense style of communication and holding “anti-woke” values.

During the campaign for the Conservatives leadership, Badenoch sparked debate on maternity pay, when she said it was “excessive” . She spoke about how she believes in personal responsibility and “the answer cannot be let the government help people to have babies”. She later clarified that she believes in maternity pay.

Read here the full article published by the Women's Agenda on 4 November 2024.

Image by Women's Agenda

 

News
Focus areas
Women's Agenda

Kemi Badenoch has become the new leader of the UK Conservatives and the first black woman to lead a major political party in the UK.

Badenoch, 44, replaces Rishi Sunak as leader and has promised to lead the party through a period of renewal following its election loss to the Labour Party in July.

Badenoch won 53,806 votes from party members to win the leadership over former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who won 41,388 votes. 

Badenoch’s leadership will mark a shift to the right for the Conservatives. She has told supporters it’s time to “get down to business”.

“The task that stands before us is tough, but simple, our first responsibility as his majesty’s loyal opposition is to hold this Labour government to account,” she told party members after winning the vote.

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

Badenoch is the sixth Tory leader in less than 9 years. She has a professional background in banking and IT and became an MP in 2017.

She has talked about returning the party to “first principles”, and has been described as having a no-nonsense style of communication and holding “anti-woke” values.

During the campaign for the Conservatives leadership, Badenoch sparked debate on maternity pay, when she said it was “excessive” . She spoke about how she believes in personal responsibility and “the answer cannot be let the government help people to have babies”. She later clarified that she believes in maternity pay.

Read here the full article published by the Women's Agenda on 4 November 2024.

Image by Women's Agenda

 

News
Focus areas

Upcoming Event:

National Intergenerational Dialogue on Advancing Youth Participation and Representation in Leadership and Decision-Making

The main purpose of the National Intergenerational Dialogue is to promote intergenerational interactions/exchanges to bridge generational divides and to address the causes of…

Explore
Event Countdown
Regional Dialogue on Advancing Transformative Gender Social Norms to Enhance Women and Youth Participation
Explore
Strategies and tools to support women in public life against gender-based violence online and offline
Explore