Kemi Badenoch elected Conservative leader beating Robert Jenrick to top job

Kemi Badenoch has been declared the leader of the Conservative Party. The former business secretary emerged victorious at an event in central London on Saturday, defeating rival Robert Jenrick by 53,806 votes to 41,388.

The North West Essex MP is set to replace Rishi Sunak as the leader of the opposition and will aim to steer the Tories back to power following their catastrophic election defeat in July.

The party faces a significant challenge, with just 121 MPs after an election that saw the party lose seats to Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform.

Following her victory, the new party leader said: “This is not just about the Conservative Party, it is about the people we want to bring back to the Conservative Party, it is about the people we need to bring into the Conservative Party.

“It is about what the Conservative Party needs to be over the next five, 10 and 20 years.

“Our party is critical to the success of our country, but to be heard we have to be honest – honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we let standards slip.

“The time has come to tell the truth. 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.

“It is time to get down to business, it is time to renew.”

A YouGov poll released prior to the result revealed that four in 10 voters had an unfavourable view of Ms Badenoch, including 29% of Conservative voters, while Britons were more likely to think Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer would make a better prime minister.