• Says it’s time to get down to business
British-Nigerian, Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke Badenoch, yesterday emerged the leader of the UK Conservative Party,the first black ever to lead a major political party in the country.
The former British Business Secretary,44,polled 53,806 votes to defeat ex-Home Office minister Robert Jenrick who got 41,388 in the final round of voting that ended a bitter four-month long contest.
She replaced Rishi Sunak as leader of the opposition party.
Moments after her election, Badenoch launched into her job, rallying party members that it was “time to get down to business.”
She was full of praise for Sunak and Mr Jenrick’s ‘energy’, but she was quick to acknowledge that the previous government had “let standards slip.”
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The party must woo back voters, she stressed.
“The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for the future,” she said.
She branded Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s performance in office so far a shaky start and said this had provided an opportunity for the Conservatives to plan for the future.
Sir Keir nonetheless congratulated her for becoming the first black leader of a major UK political party.
“Congratulations, @KemiBadenoch , on becoming the Conservative Party’s new leader,” he said on his X handle @Keir_Starmer.
He added: “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.”
Badenoch’s campaign centred on returning the Conservatives to “first principles” and launching a series of reviews in the coming months to shape a new policy platform.
She was born on January 2, 1980 in Wimbledon, London to Nigerian parents.
Her father, Femi Adegoke, was a medical doctor and the mother, Feyi Adegoke, a professor of Physiology.
The couple had two other children.
Kemi grew up in Lagos but relocated to the UK at 16 years to live with a friend of her mother’s owing to the deteriorating political and economic situation in Nigeria.
She got married to banker, Hamish Badenoch, in 2012 and they have three children together.
