“She will cross the street and bite your ankle whether you prod her or not!”
Those are the words of a long-time admirer of Kemi Badenoch, who was delighted to see her win the Conservative leadership race.
It’s a character reference about the new leader of the opposition that you don’t have to look hard to find, she’s seen as strident, even rude, by her friends, not to mention those who aren’t so keen on her.
“She really shines. It’s fascinating to see her take on Starmer,” said another supporter.
Kemi Badenoch’s appointment as leader of the Conservative Party comes just days after Labour’s first Budget, which will set the terms of political debate in the UK for years to come.
A big shot with fresh momentum will now take her place in future debates.
What a stark contrast, the difference between victory and defeat.
The winner will get an official car to the Conservative campaign headquarters, documents to sign, security briefings to digest and social media videos to film.
Losers end up losing.
Badenock is now tasked with forming a shadow cabinet to stand up to Sir Keir Starmer and the government.
Who could become shadow chancellor?
Some are talking about Andrew Griffiths, the energetic shadow science secretary who seems to relish the daily challenge of scrutinizing the government.
Others pointed to former ministers Claire Coutinho or Laura Trott.
The chief whip’s key role, then, is to maintain discipline in a parliamentary party known for opposing views.
Can Stuart Andrew, who currently holds the position, continue to serve?
Will Robert Jenrick accept the role?
let’s see.
Discussions are expected soon about the need to change leadership rules to increase the proportion of parliamentary parties needed to trigger a confidence vote to ensure a new leader is not too easily toppled.
For the past four months we have had almost a shadow cabinet, a team brought together by Rishi Sunak in the wake of defeat and who until this moment acted as caretakers.
But the task now is to provide real, long-term opposition – starting with the Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
“She’s ready for a political fight with Starmer, oh my god it’s time we had a fight with Starmer!” one of her supporters told me.
Many of their colleagues agree, but some warn the Conservatives must not confuse the early shock of the new government with a sudden enthusiasm for the Conservatives.
“Are they really ready for leadership?” asked one Conservative MP.
“We were met with a passionate rejection. Kemi considered it existential,” said the same observer, hoping that the party would agree with this assessment.
as I wrote it before the resultsThe last time the Conservatives suffered a crushing defeat at a general election and were ousted from office in 1997, it took the party 13 years and four leaders to find a future prime minister.
From this starting point, it will be very difficult to win the only campaign that really matters – the general election.
But precedents are meant to be broken, as has been the case frequently in recent years.
Kemi Badnock was tasked with breaking the other one.
