New leader of Britain's main opposition Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch smiles as she speaks after being announced as their new leader, in London on November 2, 2024.Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP via Getty Images

U.K. Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as new leader, first Black woman to head a big British party

The new leader's daunting task is to try to restore the party's reputation after years of division, scandal and economic tumult

by · National Post

LONDON (AP) — 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.

The first Black woman to lead a major British political party, Badenoch (pronounced BADE-enock) defeated rival lawmaker Robert Jenrick in a vote of almost 100,000 members of the right-of-center Conservatives.

Adam Pankratz: Keir Starmer's massive majority built on a house of cardsBritish Columbia had the Hope Slide, Alberta had the Frank Slide and on Thursday night the United Kingdom had the Labour Slide. Keir Starmer and his Labour party belted Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives, winning a massive majority with 412 seats to the Tories’ 121.Adam Pankratz, 06 Jul 2024New U.K. Labour government's first budget sees rise in taxes, spending and borrowingLONDON — British Treasury chief Rachel Reeves raised taxes Wednesday by around 40 billion pounds (US$52 billion) to plug a hole she claims to have identified in the public finances and fund the U.K.’s cash-starved public services, in a beefy budget that could set the political tone for years to come.Pan Pylas and Jill Lawless, 31 Oct 2024