11.5 C
New York
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
pCloud Premium

U.K. Conservative Party picks Kemi Badenoch as its new leader in wake of election defeat



241102 Kemi Badenoch aa 793244

Britain’s Conservative Party on Saturday elected Kemi Badenoch as its new leader as it tries to rebound from a crushing election defeat that ended 14 years in power. 

Badenoch defeated rival lawmaker Robert Jenrick in a vote of almost 100,000 members of the right-of-center party. She is the first Black woman to lead a major British political party.

Badenoch replaces former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who in July led the Conservatives to their worst election result since 1832. The Conservatives lost more than 200 seats, taking their tally down to 121. 

The new leader’s daunting task is to try to restore the party’s reputation after years of division, scandal and economic tumult, hammer Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s policies on key issues including the economy and immigration, and return the Conservatives to power at the next election, due by 2029.

A business secretary in the previous Conservative government, Badenoch was born in London to Nigerian parents and spent much of her childhood in the West African country. 

The 44-year-old former software engineer depicts herself as a disruptor, arguing for a low-tax, free-market economy and pledging to “rewire, reboot and reprogram” the British state.

A critic of multiculturalism and self-proclaimed enemy of wokeness, Badenoch has drawn criticism for saying recently said that “not all cultures are equally valid,” and for suggesting that maternity pay was excessive.

In a race that has lasted more than three months, Conservative lawmakers reduced the field from six candidates in a series of votes before putting the final two to the wider party membership.

Both finalists came from the right of the party, and argued they can win voters back from Reform U.K., the hard-right, anti-immigrant party led by populist politician Nigel Farage that has eaten away at Conservative support. 

But the party also lost many voters to the winning party, Labour, and to the centrist Liberal Democrats, and some Conservatives worry that tacking right will lead the party away from public opinion.



Source link

Odisha Expo
Odisha Expohttps://www.odishaexpo.com
Odisha Expo is one of the Largest News Aggregator of Odisha, Stay Updated about the latest news with Odisha Expo from around the world. Stay hooked for more updates.

Related Articles

Stay Connected

0FansLike
0FollowersFollow
0SubscribersSubscribe
Best Lifetime Deals on SaaSspot_img

Latest Articles

Tayyab, Abrar to debut as Pakistan look to avoid series loss in Zimbabwe –...

0
BULAWAYO: Tayyab Tahir and Abrar Ahmed will make their One-day International debuts in Pakistan’s second match against Zimbabwe on Tuesday as the visitors...

Bombs go off all around, but in Lebanon’s ancient olive groves, work must go...

0
AABRA, Lebanon — Mayada El Sayed, duct tape wrapped around her fingers to prevent bruising, efficiently strips ripe olives from a tree, seemingly...

Pep Guardiola Backs Erling Haaland Amid Manchester City’s Losing Streak

0
Manchester City suffers from a slump in form, as the team continues their losing streak this month. However, Pep Guardiola backed Erling Haaland,...

Malaysian court orders return of Swatch watches featuring LGBTQ designs

0
A Malaysian court ordered the government on Monday to return rainbow-colored watches and accessories made by Swatch Group that were seized last year...

British and Irish Lions: The team of the autumn – according to the data

0
In the 12 months building up to a Lions tour, the autumn internationals often mark the point at which fans and pundits start...