Britain’s Conservative Party on Saturday elected as its new leader, replacing former Prime Minister who stepped down after the party’s poor performance in July’s general election.
Badenoch, 44, was declared the winner of the leadership race at an event in central London, beating rival Robert Jenrick 53,806 votes to 41,388.
She said that becoming party leader was an “enormous honor,” but that “the task that stands before us is tough.”
“We have to be honest about the fact we made mistakes” and “let standards slip,” she added. “It is time to get down to business, it is time to renew.”
Daunting task ahead
Badenoch, a former business secretary, is the first Black woman to lead a major British political party.
She takes the helm of the opposition at a time when it is seeking to overcome years of division and restore its reputation. She now faces the task of challenging Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s policies on key issues such as the economy and migration, with the aim of returning the Conservatives to power at the next election, expected in 2029.
Badenoch has described herself as an enemy of wokeness and has called for a return to conservative values.
Badenoch was born in London to Nigerian parents and spent much of her childhood in the West African country.
nm/kb (AFP, Reuters, dpa)
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