Kemi Badenoch has promised to win back voters who have deserted the Conservatives after securing an historic victory in the party’s leadership contest.
The 44-year-old becomes the first black woman to lead a major political party in the UK.
She defeated fellow right-winger Robert Jenrick, 42, by 12,418 votes after a marathon contest to replace Rishi Sunak, who led the party to the biggest defeat in its history in July’s general election.
In her victory speech, Badenoch promised to “renew” the party and told cheering supporters it was “time to get down to business”.
Badenoch, who is the sixth Tory leader in less than nine years, now faces the task of uniting a fractured party and leading opposition to Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government.
The Saffron Walden MP said the Conservatives need to “bring back” voters who abandoned them, adding: “Our party is critical to the success of our country.
“But to be heard, we have to be honest.”
The party must admit it “made mistakes” and “let standards slip” over the last 14 years in government, she said.
Badenoch chose not to set out detailed policies during her campaign, focusing instead on returning the Conservatives to “first principles”.
All eyes will now turn to who she appoints to her top team as she sets out the future shape of the party over the coming days.
She praised Jenrick despite a sometimes bruising campaign and hinted he may be offered a senior job, telling him “you have a key role in our party for years to come”.
Badenoch, who became an MP in 2017 after a career in banking and IT, has said she would offer jobs to all of the Tories who launched leadership bids in July.
