Badenoch vows to renew Tories after leadership win

Kemi Badenoch has promised to "renew" the Conservatives after being elected party leader, defeating fellow right winger Robert Jenrick.

She takes over from Rishi Sunak, who led the Conservatives to their worst ever election defeat in July.

In her victory speech, she told party members it is "time to get down to business" and "time to renew".

Badenoch, who was raised in Nigeria, is the first black woman to lead a major political party in the UK.

She is the sixth Tory leader in less than eight and a half years and faces the challenge of uniting a fractured party.

Her "first responsibility" as the new Tory leader "is to hold this Labour government to account," she said.

"Our second is no less important - it is to prepare over the course of the next few years for government."

Badenoch said the party needed to focus on plans to "bring back" voters who abandoned the Conservatives, adding: "Our party is critical to the success of our country.

"But to be heard, we have to be honest."

The party must admit it “made mistakes” and “let standards slip” over the last 14 years in government, she said.

In her speech she hinted at a senior job for Jenrick, telling him “you have a key role in our party for years to come.”

Jenrick did not speak to the media after the result was announced, but on social media told his supporters "to unite behind Kemi and take the fight to this disastrous Labour government".

He also thanked "everyone who supported my vision for a Conservative Party rooted in the common ground of British politics".

The final result saw Badenoch win with 53,806 votes compared to Jenrick's 41,388 votes - the closest leadership vote in the party's history.

Bob Blackman, who oversaw the election as chair of the Conservative 1922 Committee, revealed the party membership had shrunk to just under 132,000 - down from 172,000 in 2022.

All eyes will now turn to who Badenoch appoints to her top team as she sets out the future shape of the party over the coming days.

She has previously said she would offer a frontbench job to all six of her rivals in the leadership race.

But shadow home secretary James Cleverly, who came third in the race, has ruled himself out of a frontbench role.

Shadow environment secretary Steve Barclay - who was not a leadership contenders - has also ruled himself out.

Badenoch was congratulated by her predecessor Sunak, who posted on social media: "I know that she will be a superb leader of our great party.

"She will renew our party, stand up for Conservative values, and take the fight to Labour."

Ex-prime minister Boris Johnson lauded Badenoch's "courage and clarity" and said she "brings a much needed zing and zap to the Conservative Party".

"Kemi has exactly the right courage and clarity to expose Starmer’s failings," he said.

In a social media post, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said "the first Black leader of a Westminster party is a proud moment for our country".

"I look forward to working with you and your party in the interests of the British people," he said.

But Labour Party Chair Ellie Reeves said the Conservative leadership campaign showed the party had "learned nothing since the British people resoundingly rejected them in July".

She said: "They could have spent the past four months listening to the public, taking responsibility for the mess they made and changing their party.

"Instead, Kemi Badenoch's election as leader shows they're incapable of change."

Lib Dem Leader Sir Ed Davey also congratulated Badenoch, saying "the first Black leader of a major UK political party is a historic moment for the country".

But Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice called Badenoch "another in a long line of Tory politicians who say one thing and do another".

In a statement, he said: “Kemi Badenoch was front and centre of a Government that failed Britain."

Over the 14-week campaign, the debate was dominated by immigration, the economy and how the Conservatives can rebuild trust with voters.

The party suffered its worst general defeat in its history in July as it was reduced to a record low of 121 seats in the House of Commons, with under 24% of the vote.

The party lost voters in all directions to Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK, with thousands of Conservative voters also choosing to stay at home on 4 July poll.

Dame Priti Patel, Mel Stride and Tom Tugendhat spent the summer campaigning alongside Jenrick, Badenoch and Cleverly after they put their names forward in the nominations at the end of July.

Dame Priti and Stride were the first two contenders to be eliminated in September in ballots of Tory MPs, leaving four by the time the party gathered in Birmingham for its autumn conference at the end of the month.

Cleverly appeared to take the lead after the conference, coming top of the third ballot of MPs with 39 votes, while Tugendhat was eliminated.

But in the final vote by MPs, he received 37 votes from his colleagues, falling behind Badenoch on 42 and Jenrick on 41.

The final two then went to a vote of the membership, which turned out to be closer than many had expected, with Badenoch long seen as a favourite among the party's grassroots.