Kemi Badenoch, a political leader accustomed to controversy and a mother of Nigerian origin, was appointed, on Saturday, November 2, leader of the British Conservative Party, replacing former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, of whom she was Trade Minister for two years. At 44 years old, this computer engineer by training, enthusiastic supporter of Brexit and representative of the right of the Tory party, has become known above all for her propensity to denounce the supposed “wokism” and the demands of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Combative, appreciated by his supporters for his frankness, Kemi Badenoch will have to work to rebuild his party, crushed by a historic defeat in the general elections in July: it only has 121 seats in the House of Commons, compared to 402 for the Labor Party. The Conservatives have dominated British politics for the past fourteen years, but have been punished by the era of austerity decided by David Cameron in 2010, Brexit and the chaotic mandates of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. “The task before us is difficult but simple: we must hold the Labor government to account, prepare to govern again and at the next election [probablement pas avant 2029]“We must have a clear plan of change for our country.”declared Kemi Badenoch on Saturday when the results were announced.
Born in Wimbledon, a wealthy south London suburb, to parents of Nigerian origin (doctor father, academic mother), Kemi Badenoch grew up between Lagos, Nigeria and the United States. She began her career in IT and banking editors before becoming digital director of the weekly. The spectatorthe bible of the British right.
right turn
Elected as an MP for the first time in 2017, this mother of three young children, married to a banker, was preferred by conservative activists to Robert Jenrick, her main competitor. At 42 years old, the latter, Rishi Sunak’s former Secretary of State for Migration, had based his entire campaign on his promise to reduce migration to “almost zero”remove the United Kingdom from the European Convention on Human Rights and reactivate the plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, abandoned by Labor’s Keir Starmer upon his arrival at Downing Street.
Kemi Badenoch has refrained from being so precise in her reform proposals, but has increased the number of controversial comments, stating, for example, that; “Up to 10% of officials are so bad that they deserve to be in prison” or that the compensation paid to women during their maternity leave was “excessive” – although they are among the weakest in Europe.
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