The Conservative Party lost the race to the Labour Party in July. The Conservatives announced the new leader on November 2, announcing the results of their intra-party vote. They elected Kemi Badenoch as the new Conservative leader. She is the first black woman to be elected Conservative leader. Now, in addition to the challenge of uniting a divided party, Badenoch has to appoint members of the shadow government’s cabinet from among 121 members of parliament from this party. This article examines the Conservative Party’s new leader in 2024 and her views.
The chaotic and disastrous state of the conservative party
The conservative party led by Rishi Sunak lost 251 seats in the House of Commons in the July general election. Conservatives suffered the heaviest defeat in this party’s last two hundred years. After 14 years, they were forced to hand over power to the rival party, the Labour Party. Now, the Labour Party has the majority of seats in the British House of Commons and, therefore, the government. The conservative party is considered a shadow government due to its share of seats in the parliament, 121 seats. Some prominent figures of this party, including Liz Truss, the most urgent Prime Minister of the UK, could not even vote in their constituency. Several other distinguished members of this party, such as Theresa May and Boris Johnson, the former Prime Ministers of the UK, did not even run for election due to the fear of defeat.
Conservative efforts to restore the credibility of the party
After the historic defeat of the conservative party in the elections, the members of this party decided to remove Rishi Sunak from the party’s helm. Accordingly, after several rounds of internal party elections among the leadership candidates of this party, Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick were finally introduced to the party’s members. In the final stage, the conservative party members between the two appointed Kemi Badenoch to lead the party and succeed Sunak.
Conservatives’ intra-party competition to choose Conservative Party’s new leader in 2024
After several months of intra-party competition, Kemi Badenoch was elected the party’s leader by the vote of the members of the Conservative Party. Kemi Badenoch won this competition with 53,806 votes against 41,388 votes and with more than 12 thousand more votes. She succeeded Rishi Sunak with 72.8% of the votes of the party members. Kemi Badenoch is the sixth Conservative Party leader in less than nine years, following David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
The first black leader of the Conservative Party
44-year-old Kemi Badenoch is the first black woman to be voted in by members of the Conservative Party as the helm of this major party in the UK. This issue has surprised most political and media circles in the UK. Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the rival party’s appointment of the first black leader. Starmer called this election “a proud moment for our country”. Some of the Conservative Party leaders have been leading the party for a short time. Liz Truss was the leader of this party for only 44 days, which was the shortest leadership time. Kemi Badenoch is now the first black woman in the country to lead a major party in the UK.
Badenoch’s first positions after the victory in the internal party elections of conservatives
After the victory, Kemi Badenoch considered the leadership of the Conservative Party her greatest honour. The Party’s new leader in 2024 entered the parliament in 2017 from the profession of banking and information technology. Bob Blackman, a senior member of the Conservative Party, revealed that in the last two years, about 40,000 people left the party. The number of conservative party members has decreased to about 132 thousand. In his first words after the victory, Badenoch regretted the separation of many party members and said that the party must admit its mistakes.
Restoring the Conservatives’ credibility is Kemi Badenoch’s main task
Restoring the credibility of conservatives is difficult for the Conservative Party’s new leader in 2024. Badenoch will likely adopt policies aimed at shrinking the government. She announced that the time has come to defend the principles of freedom of speech, free markets and freedom of business. Badenoch told the journalists in her speech after the victory: “The task that stands before us is tough but simple.” She said that her party’s job is to make the Labour party government accountable and make binding plans for the government. Badenoch’s difficult task is restoring the party’s credibility after years of rifts, scandals and economic tensions. Also, overcoming the policies of Prime Minister Keir Starmer from the Labour Party on major issues, including the economy and immigration, and returning the Conservatives to power in the next election in 2029 are other big challenges.
Badenoch’s big challenges in the leadership of the conservative party
Badenoch noted that her party is facing big challenges. She has said she faces difficulty getting the Conservative Party back on track. Britain’s Conservative Party, one of the most successful parties in Western Europe for decades, currently has only 121 of the 650 members of the House of Commons. This party has lost the trust of many voters, and Badenoch must now ensure its stability and unity.
The possibility of Badenoch getting involved in a culture war
Badenoch, a mother of three, is known for her criticism of cultural diversity. She has come under fire for recent comments that “not all cultures are equally valid.” Also, her position regarding maternity pay being too generous has exposed her to criticism. Conservative Party’s new leader in 2024 is subject to opposition from critics because of these positions.
Will Badenoch succeed in restoring the credibility of Conservatives?
Conservative Party’s new leader in 2024, must now take on the challenging task of rebuilding the party’s reputation after years of division, scandal and economic instability in her party. Five different leaders have led the party since the Brexit referendum 2016. The conservative party has gone through many scandals over the years. Some analysts say that Badenoch will not last long like the leaders of this party in recent years. According to them, this party will not be able to win in the upcoming elections with her leadership. It is too early to judge Badenoch’s performance, but given the discredit of the Tories, she has little chance of succeeding in rebuilding public trust in the Conservative Party.
