“Islamist terrorism is something that should never be appeased,” said Kemi Badenoch during the course of her campaign to be elected the new leader of Britain’s Conservative Party. “Israel is at the front line,” she continued, “and it is surrounded by a lot of enemies. I think what they are doing is extraordinary.... I am very sympathetic to the Israeli argument.”
On November 2, the long, drawn-out leadership campaign reached its climax, and Badenoch was declared the new leader of the Conservative Party and thus the leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition in the House of Commons. She is the first Black woman to head a UK political party.
When the Conservatives suffered a historic defeat in the general election of 2024, then-leader Rishi Sunak resigned, and the party decided that it would not be sensible to rush into electing a new leader. They agreed on a system that would take well over three months to yield its result.
A shortlist of six candidates was selected on the basis of the amount of support they could muster from their parliamentary colleagues, and a series of votes whittled the six down to a final two. The 170,000 members of the party, spread across the length and breadth of the UK, were then given the task of selecting the winning candidate.
Kemi Badenoch (originally Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke) was born in London in 1980. She spent much of her childhood in Nigeria, where her father worked as a family doctor, and her mother was a professor of physiology at the University of Lagos. She returned to the UK at age 16 to study for entry to university. She graduated from Sussex University with a degree in computer systems engineering, and from the University of London with an LLB (bachelor of laws). She became a Conservative MP in 2017, rising rapidly to ministerial level.
She met her husband, Hamish Badenoch, in 2009. The surname Badenoch, pronounced BAY-de-nock, is of Gaelic origin, and his mother is Irish. Hamish was educated at the prestigious Ampleforth College, and went on to read history at Cambridge University. He had a varied business career before becoming an investment banker with Deutsche Bank. The couple were married in 2012 and have two sons and a daughter.
Why Badenoch is the right choice
During her time in Parliament, Badenoch has become known for her firmly-based right-wing views, and for the uninhibited way in which she expresses them. Her engineering background enables her to master detail and bring an analytical approach to complex issues. She is considered an independent thinker who is not afraid to go against mainstream opinion when necessary. Above all, she quickly established herself as a first-class communicator, able to create a rapport with her audience and present her case clearly and persuasively.
The Conservative Party (or Tories, as they are commonly known) is looking to Badenoch to renew and reinvigorate it after its recent disastrous election showing. The members hope that her clear right-wing convictions, allied to her extraordinary political and personal skills, will be successful in reshaping the party’s political vision and thus re-establish its credibility in the eyes of the electorate. What’s more, they hope she will have achieved this by the time of the next general election, which must be held no later than August 15, 2029. A tall order.
It was in March 2023, while serving as minister for international trade, that Badenoch visited Israel. Her objective was to advance negotiations toward a UK-Israel free trade agreement. Speaking to the media, she emphasized how close Israel and the UK are in the fields of technology and innovation. She described Israel as “at the forefront of hi-tech, growth sectors.” Her work will not be wasted. The UK’s new Labour government is continuing to support a trade agreement with Israel, despite recent tensions regarding arms exports. Both governments have committed themselves to deepen their economic ties and expand cooperation in areas like technology and digital trade, cybersecurity, healthcare, AI, and biotech.
Badenoch is regarded as a firm supporter of Israel. After Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in September, Badenoch expressed her reaction in a TV interview: “Israel is showing moral clarity in dealing with its enemies, and the enemies of the West as well,” she said. Ahead of her election as Conservative leader, she wrote to the Conservative Friends of Israel organization, with a firm commitment: “If I am leader of the Conservative Party, we will continue to strengthen our ties with Israel and root out the tragic resurgence of antisemitism in the UK. We will be true to our values.”
Israel, the UK, and the world in general will be watching, aware that one day, not too far into the future, Kemi Badenoch may well become Britain’s first Black woman prime minister.■
The writer’s latest book is Trump and the Holy Land: 2016-2020. Follow him at: www.a-mid-east-journal.blogspot.com.