Kemi Badenoch’s Unenviable Task
The Tories have selected their new leader, and the task of trying to make the party less dislikable is an unenviable one
Labour’s landslide victory in the 2024 General Election took place around four months ago, and with it came the end of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s time in number 10. The party paid the price for years of inept leadership, opening the door to the first Labour government in 14 years. This Labour are different to that of Tony Blair and the vast margin of victory in July will give them scope for at least one more term after this one.
With this in mind, whoever the new Tory leader was to be would have known the task ahead of them was huge. Kemi Badenoch defeated Robert Jenrick in the final round of party voting to be given the position which time will soon tell if it is truly an unenviable job.
Badenoch is a politician who has often been in the running for the leadership, which of course in previous years was to become Prime Minister and not just party leader. She has held a wide range of government positions and was previously Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade, and Minister for Women and Equalities.
The former vice-chair of the party takes over the leadership after it suffered its heaviest election loss since 1997. For the first time since before 1945, a party won over 400 seats to the Conservatives 121. A resurgence in the Liberal Democrats saw them win 72 seats, taking more away from the Tory majority of 2019.
The Conservatives became bogged down in scandal and unpredictability throughout. Five leaders/ Prime Ministers in 10 years is hardly the image of strong stability that the party wants to project on UK politics, and this stat is made even more damning when factoring in the ill-fated Liz Truss premiership which lasted for a big 50 days- just six days longer than Brian Clough was in the hot seat at Leeds United.
Kemi Badenoch has an uphill task on her hands to get the Tories moving in the right direction. Before making them even remotely ready for an election, she must make them more likeable- something that many cynics might say is impossible for even the brightest characters in politics.
Faith in the party eroded away during several years of leadership that took the country backward. Labour isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they secured one of the biggest majorities in recent history thanks to people being simply fed up by failed Tory rule.
In reality, Badenoch probably needs another election defeat to allow for the party to see what is wrong within, and also to allow for them to see that not all supporters are the right-wing patriots they seem desperate for them to be. Right-wing populism didn’t work at the last election, and a rise in support for Reform UK split the vote.
What also might help the Tories is not referring to everything they don’t agree with as ‘woke’ as, still, they don’t seem to get that the actual dictionary definition of the word is complementary. Its use as a buzzword for anything they either don’t like or can’t comprehend is tiresome and I dare say this won’t change even with the Tories in opposition.
UK voters rejected the Conservatives' hardened policies, and Badenoch must now confront a Labour Government with one of the biggest common majorities ever seen. Keeping this new Labour government in check is the first priority for the new Tory leader, but not before she at least tries to make the party less contemptible.
