British-Nigerian, Kemi Badenoch, has been elected as the new leader of the UK Conservative Party.
Badenoch polled 53,806 votes to defeat Robert Jenrick with 41,388, out of the 131,680 eligible voters in the final round of voting to emerge winner of the election.
She takes over from Rishi Sunak, the former UK Prime Minister, who led the Conservatives to their worst-ever election defeat in July.
In her victory speech, Badenoch expressed gratitude for the enormous support she received and assured all member of her readiness to take up the huge task.
She said it is an “honour to be elected to this role, to lead the party that I love the party that has given me so much.”
“I hope that I will be able to repay that debt,” Ms Badenoch added. She also thanked her predecessor Rishi Sunak, saying: “No one worked harder in such difficult times” before wishing him the “very best for the future”.
To Mr Janerick, she said, “We have all been impressed by your energy and your determination.”
The new Conservative leader added that the task before the Tories is “tough, but simple.”
Our first responsibility… is to hold this Labour government to account, our second is no less important, to prepare over the course of the next few years for government.”
She said the party needs clear policies and a clear plan for implementing them. “That huge job begins today,” Ms Badenoch told party members.
Meanwhile, Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrats leader, congratulated Ms Badenoch, saying “the election of the first Black leader of a major UK political party is a historic moment for the country.”
“Voters across the country believe her party is too divided, out-of-touch and unable to accept Conservative failures over the past years.”
“The Liberal Democrats will continue to offer the best opposition to the government and fight for a fair deal for Britain,” he added.
However, Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader, said Ms Badenoch’s election doesn’t give any hope as she is another in a long line of Tory politicians who say one thing and do another.
“Kemi Badenoch was front and centre of a government that failed Britain. She said nothing while Rishi Sunak hit hard-working people with record immigration, the small boats crisis, the highest taxes for 60 years, record NHS waiting lists and sky-high crime,” Mr Tice said.
“Instead of standing up for Britain whilst in government, she stood up for her own career prospects and chauffeur-driven cars. She has failed the British public before and she will fail them again as leader of the Conservative party.”
During her campaign, Ms Badenoch vowed to return the Conservatives to “first principles” and launch a series of reviews in the coming months to shape a new policy platform.
She is the sixth Tory leader in less than eight and a half years and faces the challenge of uniting a fractured party, according to the BBC.
In her victory speech, Ms Badenoch told members of her party it was “time to tell the truth” and “get down to business.”
British-Nigerian Kemi Badenoch Elected UK’s Conservative Party Leader is first published on The Whistler Newspaper