Kemi Badenoch, the outspoken and controversial right-wing politician who has received backlash for stands against transgender rights and other progressive issues, has been elected as Britain’s new Conservative Party leader.
Badenoch, who defeated Robert Jenrick to replace Rishi Sunak, is the first Black woman to be elected as the leader of a major British political party, CNN reported.
“The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for our future, to reset our politics and our thinking, and to give our party and our country the new start that they deserve,” Badenoch said during her victory speech, per CNN. “It is time to get down to business. It is time to renew.”
Kemi Badenoch is of Nigerian heritage
The 44-year-old right-wing leader, who was raised by her wealthy Nigerian parents, was born as Olukemi Adegoke in London, according to The Hill. Although she was born in London, Badenoch spent part of her childhood in Nigeria. Speaking to the BBC, Badenoch said her experience in Nigeria impacted her political outlook.
“I grew up somewhere where the lights didn’t come on, where we ran out of fuel frequently despite being an oil-producing country,” Badenoch told the BBC, per The Hill. “I don’t take what we have in this country for granted. I meet a lot of people who assume that things are good here because things are good here and they always will be. They don’t realize just how much work and sacrifice was required in order to get that.”
At age 16, Badenoch returned to the U.K. and worked at McDonalds while going to school. She later attended the University of Sussex and studied computer systems engineering. Badenoch married banker Hamish Badenoch in 2012 and gave birth to three children.
She was in parliament and held positions in Boris Johnson’s government
Badenoch’s political career took off in 2015 when she was elected to the London Assembly. Two years later, she was elected to Parliament. Badenoch then held multiple positions from 2019- 22 under Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government.
When Liz Truss took over as Prime Minister for a short stint, Badenoch served as trade secretary. She then took another step in her career when she served as business secretary under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
She is popular with conservatives and is against liberal views, having controversial takes on race, feminism and LGBTQ+ rights
Badenoch has ascended into a popular conservative voice with her firm stance against liberal views. Despite her own background, Badenoch wants the country to be more strict on welcoming immigrants.
Per The New York Times, Badenoch said it’s important to determine “who is coming into our country and what do they want to do here?”
Badenoch also speaks about deploring “woke” ideas and “nasty identity politics,” The Times reported. Taking a stance against trans rights, Badenoch is pushing for the country to define sex as biological, CNN reported.
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