Kemi Badenoch has been elected Leader of the Conservative Party. She defeated Robert Jenrick in the final members’ round of the leadership election by 57 per cent to 44 per cent, on a 73 per cent turnout. In line with our final ConservativeHome survey, that is a similar margin to that which Liz Truss achieved in 2022, but on a lower turnout, down 9 points from 82 per cent.
On her election, Badenoch thanked Jenrick for his “energy and determination” and said he had a “key role to play in our party for many years to come”. She promised that her first duty was “to hold this government to account”, and her second to prepare a Conservative plan for delivering in government after the next election. “It is down to get down to business, it is time to renew.”
Her immediate task – alongside finding somewhere in Westminster open at 11 on a Saturday to celebrate – is to appoint her Shadow Cabinet. Andrew Griffith is hotly tipped to be her Shadow Chancellor. Jenrick has pledged that he would be willing to serve under her. One leadership rival who will not is James Cleverly, who revealed yesterday that he plans to return to the backbenches.
Whichever way individual members voted in this contest, we hope they will join us at ConservativeHome, wishing Badenoch the best in uniting our party, taking the fight to Labour, and getting us back to government in 2029. Rishi Sunak also has our best wishes as he returns to the backbenches, especially as he bequeaths his successor the first Tory poll lead since December 2021.
