Everything you need to know about Kemi Badenoch, the divisive new leader of the Conservative Party
by James Harrison, Gavin Cordon PA · ChronicleLiveKemi Badenoch, the new leader of the Conservative Party, has been stirring up quite a buzz with her readiness to voice opinions that others might shy away from, earning her significant admiration from the Tory base. Her candid takes on everything from gender identity to institutional racism have energised her right-wing backers and provoked strong reactions from the left.
Throughout her eventful time in office, Ms Badenoch has butted heads with civil servants over her demands for gender-specific toilets in public buildings and faced allegations of bullying staff. Regarded by some as a nemesis of "woke" culture, her straightforward, no-nonsense manner is seen by certain Tories as the perfect counter to Nigel Farage's Reform UK allure.
Yet, there are those who worry her combative style - she's often quipped to be capable of starting an argument in an empty room - could lead to unnecessary disputes, diverting focus from the crucial task of reclaiming lost political territory.
At the recent party conference in Birmingham, she found herself clarifying impromptu remarks that seemed to suggest she thought maternity pay was excessively high and that incompetent civil servants deserved jail time.
For her part, Ms Badenoch has refuted any suggestion that she intentionally courts controversy or engages in so-called "culture wars", although she's not one to retreat from criticism.
David Tennant, the Doctor Who actor, sparked controversy at an LGBT+ awards ceremony by stating he wished for a world where Kemi Badenoch "doesn’t exist any more" and that she would "shut up". In response, Ms Badenoch, undeterred, declared she wouldn't be silenced by a "rich, lefty, white male celebrity" who was targeting "the only black woman in government".
This clash is indicative of her sometimes strained ties with parts of the LGBT+ community. Her tenure as equalities minister saw calls for her resignation after three government advisers on LGBT+ issues resigned due to the government's inaction on banning gay conversion therapy.
Some expressed astonishment at hearing such staunchly conservative views from a black woman; early in her political career, she was occasionally mistaken for a Labour MP. Yet, Badenoch has consistently affirmed that her Nigerian heritage shapes her political perspective.
Her journey to the Conservative leadership has been far from typical. Born in Wimbledon's private Catholic maternity hospital, she was raised in Nigeria by her GP father and physiology lecturer mother.
When Nigeria's economy faltered in the 1990s, her parents leveraged her British citizenship to send her, at 16, to Morden, south London, to live with a family friend and further her education. Badenoch, who initially learned Yoruba before English, later described herself as "to all intents and purposes a first-generation immigrant".
After enrolling at a local college to study A-levels and working part-time at McDonald’s, she found herself in an unfamiliar environment. Coming from a middle-class background with expectations of becoming a doctor, it was a shock to be among working class youngsters with low expectations.
Despite discouragement from her tutors, she chose to study computer engineering at Sussex University. The attitudes of the left-wing students – "snotty middle-class north Londoners who couldn’t get into Oxbridge" – pushed her towards conservative politics.
She was particularly irked by their ignorant discussions about Africa. "These stupid lefty white kids didn’t know what they were talking about," she told The Times.
"And that instinctively made me think ‘these are not my people’."
After university, she worked as a software engineer before moving into banking as an associate director at Coutts, later becoming a digital director at The Spectator magazine. In 2005, at the age of 25, she joined the Conservative Party, citing Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and (perhaps more surprisingly) Airey Neave – who was assassinated by the INLA in 1979 – among her political heroes.
After an unsuccessful bid for the Labour-held Dulwich and West Norwood constituency in the 2005 general election, she eventually entered Westminster as the MP for the safe Conservative seat of Saffron Walden in 2017. A fervent supporter of Brexit, she quickly made her mark by declaring the EU referendum "the greatest ever vote of confidence in the project of the United Kingdom" during her first address in the House of Commons.
She swiftly earned a spot on the executive of the influential Tory backbench 1922 Committee. Her career trajectory continued upward when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in 2019 and appointed Ms Badenoch as the junior minister for children and families.
In her role as equalities minister, she gained attention with her bold support for the Sewell report—launched after the Black Lives Matter demonstrations—which concluded that the UK does not exhibit institutional racism. These remarks are consistent with her skepticism of identity politics; she has expressed discontent with her three mixed-race children, whom she shares with her banker husband Hamish Badenoch, being categorized solely based on their race.
Her rapid advancement under Mr Johnson's government did not deter her from participating in the surge of resignations, sparked by the Chris Pincher scandal, which ultimately led to Johnson stepping down from his role as Prime Minister in 2022. Despite being relatively new to high-level politics, Ms Badenoch ambitiously joined the race to replace him, placing an impressive fourth out of eight contenders on the ballot paper, thereby significantly boosting her visibility in political circles.
After her support for Liz Truss paid off, Kemi Badenoch was appointed Cabinet member, taking up the role of international trade secretary—a position she kept when Rishi Sunak took over, pairing it with the women and equalities brief. Despite showing public loyalty throughout his term, Badenoch came under scrutiny for criticising him post-general election loss, slamming his choice to call an unscheduled vote as unconstitutional.
In her recent leadership campaign, her second in two years, Badenoch claimed the party had "talked right but governed left", proposing a leaner state that performs "fewer things" yet with greater "brilliance". Badenoch also sparked debate through a press piece where she argued that not every culture holds equal validity, suggesting that immigrants to Britain should align with the nation's values and contribute positively to its society.
Her political destiny is now resting in the hands of Tory members who have long held her in high regard, as they consider her potential to guide them to resurgence.
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
Join our County Durham community
Join our Great North Run community