Who is Kemi Badenoch, and can she become the next Tory leader?

By Michael Baggs (with Emily, Jon and Lewis)

Find out more about Kemi Badenoch, one of the frontrunners to become next Tory leader with promises to "renew" the party.

Read time: 5 minutes

What you need to know about the Conservative leadership race

• The current contenders to become the next Tory leader are Kemi Badenoch, Mel Stride, Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat and James Cleverly. Priti Patel was elimination in the first round of voting.
• This list will be whittled down to just two candidates in a series of votes by MPs, before Conservative Party members vote for the next leader.
• The winner of the leadership contest is set to be named on 2 November, ahead of the party conference.

But who is Kemi Badenoch, who has won over right-wing of the Tory party with her "anti-woke" stance, and placed second in the first round of voting for the next Tory leader?

What's Kemi Badenoch's story?

Describing herself as a "first generation immigrant," Badenoch worked in IT for big business before making her move into politics.

She won her Saffron Waldon seat in the 2024 election with a majority of 27,594 votes over her Liberal Democrat rival.

She first ran for Parliament in 2010, and for the London Assembly in 2012, but failed to be elected. She later entered the London Assembly in 2015, after those who beat her in the 2012 vote moved into the House of Commons.

In 2017 she was selected by the party to be the candidate in Saffron Waldon, a Tory stronghold, easily winning and becoming an MP for the first time.

A staunch believer in Brexit, she became the Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade under Liz Truss's short-lived government, and Minister for Women and Equalities when Rishi Sunak came to power. She also held a short tenure as Secretary of State for Business and Trade between February 2024 and the July election.

She first ran to become leader in 2022, coming fourth in the race, with Truss eventually winning.

What do her politics look like?

Badenoch is seen to represent the right-wing voice of the Conservative Party, and is known for her "anti-woke" stance. She faced controversy when, as Minister for Women and Equalities, she abstained from a vote on permitting same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.

She also claims that the UK is not institutionally racist, and has stood firmly against schools teaching pupils about white privilege and critical race theory.

Accused of stoking a "culture war" with her comments, including 2023 claims of an "epidemic" of gay children being told they are transgender, she claimed she was instead "fighting for common sense".

During a press conference in early September 2024, Badenoch stated that she was "more worried" about the election of five independent MPs to Parliament on pro-Gaza issues than she was the success of Reform UK in the July election.

She launched her campaign with an attack on Doctor Who actor David Tennant, who said the MP should "shut up" at an awards ceremony in early 2024.

What has Kemi Badenoch said about leading the Tories?

Announcing her candidacy for Tory leader in The Times, she said that the party "deserved to lose" the 2024 election, blaming its loss on the party being "unsure" of what it now stands for.

Badenoch adds that Reform UK "would not exist" if the Conservatives had tackled such issues, claiming to believe "the majority of British people share our values".

The MP promises to "renew" the party, claiming the previous government "talked right yet governed left", leaving the public feeling "manipulated".

She also attacks migrants seeking refugee status in the UK, stating the UK has "open borders to anyone willing to lie about their circumstances."

What do the News Agents say?

Badenoch was the early favourite in the leadership race, but placed second behind Robert Jenrick in the first round of voting in early September 2024.

Ben Riley-Smith, politics editor of The Telegraph, tells Emily Mailis and Lewis Goodall that she is the "more charismatic speaker" of the two frontrunners.

"I think Badenoch's appeal is slightly ethereal, in that she has charisma or X Factor or there's something about her that is more engaging, exciting to voters," Riley-Smith says.

"I do think there is a kind of star power, or an essence that when she speaks, it seems much more engaging and fluid. Robert Jenrick seems to be more a kind of classic politician positioning."

Henry Hill, the acting editor of Conservative Home and an expert on the Tories told The News Agents that while Badenoch "can be an excellent Commons performer", there is one reservation that people have of her.

Hill told Emily and Jon: "She has not historically shown a vast enthusiasm for the press, if we put it mildly. When you're in government, that's fine, because the press comes to you.

"But in opposition, especially a year or two down the line when Labour's having internal ruptures over this, that and the other, the Conservative Party is going to have to fight to get in the conversation.

"And the question is, when do we need a leader who has the hunger for press attention needed to do that?"

Listen in full on The News Agents.

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