Badenoch wins Tory poll to become first black leader of major UK party

Kemi Badenoch has been elected as the new leader of the UK’s Conservative Party. 

The Nigerian-born Badenoch defeated Robert Jenrick in the month-long election, which was announced on Saturday.

She polled 53,806 votes against Jenrick’s 41,388 to succeed Rishi Sunak as Britain’s opposition leader.

With the victory, Badenoch becomes the first black person to become the leader of a major party in the UK.

She takes over a Conservative Party still reeling from the loss it suffered during the general election in July.

The 44-year-old served as shadow business and trade secretary since the Labour Party took over the Downing Street.

After her victory, Badenoch said the Tories let “standards slip,” adding that the party must “set up Conservative pledges that appeal to the British people” before the next election.

“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,” the new Tory leader said.

“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.

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

Badenoch first showed interest in becoming the leader of the Conservative Party in 2022, but she was eliminated in the fourth round of voting.

Badenoch, who grew up in Nigeria, has a reputation within and outside the party for her outspoken stance against immigration. She has been vocal about support for colonialism.