Kemi Badenoch’s rapid rise in British politics is impressive and a thing of pride for her ancestral country. But her pugilistic political personae, beloved by her party’s hard right, may limit her national appeal and likely circumscribe her political trajectory.
By Chudi Okoye
A curious thing has happened to the British Conservative and Unionist Party. In the past forty-five years, the United Kingdom’s longest-standing political party and one of the world’s oldest still in existence—a party considered the bastion of British establishment—has given Britain its only three female prime ministers so far (Margaret Thatcher, 1979-1990; Theresa May, 2016-2019; and Liz Truss, Sept-Oct 2022), and one of Punjabi Indian descent (Rishi Sunak, 2022-2024). In just the past week, the party has also selected its first Black female leader, Kemi Badenoch, a first-generation immigrant of Nigerian descent, who is now the Leader of His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition and Leader of the Conservative Party. Her emergence means that Conservative Party leadership has passed from one child of immigrants to another―from British-Indian to British-Nigerian heritage. It is a remarkable moment in British politics. Should she endure in the political arena, she might one day break another barrier and become Britain’s first Black female prime minister.
The party of Robert Peel, Benjamin Disraeli and Winston Churchill has certainly come a long way. But its transformation has been paradoxical. Every one of the non-traditional leaders elected by the party, different in gender or ethnicity, has had to adopt hard-line policy and political postures to achieve their breakthrough: Thatcher’s zealous free-market ideology, May’s tough stance on immigration, Truss’s radical economic liberalism and Sunak’s Brexit fixation and equally hard line on immigration. Progress in representation, it seems, has required strict adherence to conservative orthodoxy. And it’s no different with Badenoch, with her strict conservative policy outlook and forceful positions in the culture wars.
Rapid Ascent
Kemi Badenoch’s biography is nothing short of remarkable, characterized by a rapid career progression. Born in 1980 in London to Nigerian parents, Badenoch’s childhood was split between Lagos, Nigeria, where her father worked as a family doctor and her mother as a psychology professor, and the United States, where her mother later secured teaching positions. She returned to the UK in 1996, aged 16, and stayed with a family friend as she studied for A-levels while working at McDonald’s. She earned B’s in Biology and Chemistry, and a D in Maths. The middling results notwithstanding, Badenoch went on to study Computer Systems Engineering at the University of Sussex, finishing with a Master of Engineering degree in 2003, aged 23.
Badenoch pursued another degree, in Law, at Birkbeck, University of London, completing it in 2009 while working part-time as a software engineer with Logica (later CGI Group), an IT and management consultancy firm. She then transitioned to a role as systems analyst at the Royal Bank of Scotland before moving into consultancy and financial services. From 2006 to 2013, she served as an associate director at Coutts, the private bank and wealth manager, and later took on the role of digital director at The Spectator from 2015 to 2016.
In 2005, while still a part-time student and less than 10 years back in the UK, Kemi Badenoch joined the Conservative Party, during Tony Blair’s tenure as Labour prime minister. This marked the beginning of her active involvement in British politics, which would lead to a rapid ascent, culminating in her elevation, on 2 November 2024, to Leader of the Opposition.
Her political rise began with her election to the London Assembly, secured after an initial setback, and truly accelerated with her entry into the House of Commons in 2017. In Parliament, she quickly established herself as a rising star, securing positions on both the influential 1922 Executive Committee and the Justice Select Committee in her first year. By 2018, she had stepped into the party’s internal power structure as Vice Chair for Candidates. ¬
Her ministerial career proved equally dynamic. From her first appointment as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Children and Families in 2019, she moved through a range of high-profile positions: Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Minister for Equalities, and Minister for Local Government, Faith and Communities. By September 2022, she had secured a place in the Privy Council and entered cabinet as Secretary of State for International Trade.
In her final years before becoming Opposition Leader, Badenoch gained further cabinet experience, serving ―at a points concurrently―as Minister for Women and Equalities, President of the Board of Trade, and Secretary of State for Business and Trade. A brief period in mid-2024 as Shadow Secretary for Housing and Local Government served as the final step before her current role.
In less than two decades, Kemi Badenoch—by her own account “a first-generation immigrant”—has reached the highest ranks of the Conservative Party, at just 44. Her age could be an asset: by the next general election in 2029, she will be 49, significantly younger than the incumbent prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, who took office at nearly 62. Yet, survival to the next election is uncertain within a party that has elected six leaders in the past eight years.
A newly adopted rule by the Conservative Party’s influential 1922 Committee, enacted shortly before Badenoch’s rise, raises the threshold for triggering a confidence vote against a sitting leader from 15% to 33% of the parliamentary party. This adjustment grants Badenoch a stronger buffer—though nothing is ever secure in the often fractious Conservative ranks. If she can hold her ground and steer her party to victory in the next general election—both significant ‘ifs’—she would achieve the historic milestone of becoming Britain’s first Black female prime minister. Such a victory would unfold nearly 69 years after Nigeria’s independence from Britain, meaning she would surpass the achievement of Rishi Sunak, who reached the premiership 75 years after India’s independence.
In recent decades, a remarkable roster of UK politicians of foreign ancestry has risen to prominent positions in British public life, perhaps reflecting the dynamism and diversity of modern British politics. Among them, Sajid Javid, son of Pakistani immigrants, has held a suite of top roles: Home Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Health Secretary. Priti Patel, born to parents of Indian descent and Ugandan passage, served as Home Secretary. Diane Abbott, with Jamaican heritage, became a long-standing force in Parliament and Shadow Home Secretary for Labour. And London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, himself the son of Pakistani immigrants, made history in 2016 as the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital.
Chuka Umunna, with Nigerian and Irish roots, held the position of Shadow Business Secretary and, for a time, was touted as a future Labour leader. Alok Sharma, whose family hails from India, served as Secretary of State for International Development; while Kwasi Kwarteng, born to Ghanaian parents, became Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Nadhim Zahawi, of Kurdish-Iraqi descent, oversaw the Education department; and Suella Braverman, born to Goan Indian parents, took on the roles of Attorney General and later Home Secretary. David Lammy, now Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, is of Guyanese origin; and James Cleverly, a former Foreign Secretary, brings a unique heritage with a Sierra Leonean mother and an English father.
While Rishi Sunak’s ascent to the office of Prime Minister stands as a defining breakthrough, Kemi Badenoch joins this distinguished lineage as the Leader of the Opposition,. Her achievement not only underscores her political acumen but speaks to the evolving openness of Britain’s political system—a system increasingly willing, it appears, to entrust the highest offices to those from diverse backgrounds.
We must not overstate the point about openness, however, because the growing leadership diversity, which is undeniable, also compels a high degree of ideological conformity―particularly within the Conservative Party which has championed it the most. There’s no question that the Tories have a taller record of leadership diversity than the reputedly progressive Labour Party; but, at the same time, leadership prospect depends to a greater extent on conformity with party orthodoxies within the Conservative Party than appears to be the case in Labour. We see this dynamic on display in Badenoch’s rise in the Conservative hierarchy.
Political ‘Kemistry’
Throughout her Tory leadership campaign, Kemi Badenoch emphasized her background in computer systems engineering, claiming it equips her to approach problems analytically, unencumbered by ideology. While this is an appealing narrative and may hold some truth, Badenoch has not been at all reluctant to articulate her ideological positions, nor has she hesitated to engage in Britain’s abiding ideological battles.
Her combative style—often perceived as brittle by liberals—has earned her the nickname ‘KemiKaze’ (a play on the word ‘kamikaze’). This, coupled with her supposed chemistry with the rightwing base (a circumstance for which I coined the word ‘Kemistry’), has contributed to her rapid political ascent.
Kemi Badenoch represents a complex, sometimes contentious brand of conservative ideology that blends traditional British conservatism with personal convictions from her Nigerian heritage. A proponent of national identity and cultural assimilation, she has argued that “not all cultures are equally valid,” and has called for newcomers to imbibe British values as a part of their integration. She has advocated for an “integration course” requirement for new immigrants, believing that the UK’s identity must be respected and upheld by those it welcomes. Badenoch’s view aligns with her broader philosophy of national cohesion, wherein British citizenship embodies more than a legal status; to her, it signifies a commitment to shared values and responsibilities.
As a social conservative, Badenoch emphasizes personal responsibility and rejects progressive ideological frameworks that she sees as undermining social cohesion―all music to the hard right core of her party. She has voiced her opposition to what she perceives as “identity politics,” which she associates with social division and coercion rather than tolerance and unity. This stance surfaced powerfully during her 2020 speech opposing critical race theory’s role in UK schools, where she argued that such perspectives, if taught unchallenged, erode fundamental British values of fairness and debate.
Badenoch’s skepticism of “woke” ideology has won her admiration from hardline conservative figures, including U.S. politician Ron DeSantis. Badenoch, in turn, has praised aspects of DeSantis’s policies and shown alignment with conservative culture-war tactics. She considers herself a “net zero skeptic” and is wary of progressive policies, advocating instead for a balance between economic growth and environmental goals. Her affinity with American conservative thought is also reflected in her admiration for economist Thomas Sowell and philosopher Roger Scruton, whose writings often critique government intervention and promote individual freedom over bureaucratic oversight.
Historically, Badenoch’s views on British colonialism diverge from mainstream critiques; she has argued that the colonial era brought both harm and benefits. Her perspective is that the British Empire should be judged with nuance, as colonialism involved “a different bunch of winners and losers” rather than a simple narrative of oppression. Badenoch has even credited the Glorious Revolution of 1688, rather than colonial wealth or “white privilege,” as the catalyst for Britain’s eventual prosperity.
Politically, Badenoch belongs to the populist-leaning hard right of the Conservative Party, positioning herself as an alternative to progressive ideals. Her leadership bid emphasized themes of personal responsibility, reduced government intervention, and economic growth free from bureaucratic regulation. She has publicly criticized the expansion of government roles in everyday life, arguing that an increasing number of jobs have shifted from the productive economy to regulatory oversight. In her leadership campaign, she characterized this trend as emblematic of an emerging “bureaucratic class” and part of a rising progressive ideology that stifles individual freedoms and economic potential.
In the end, it is the combination of Kemi Badenoch’s ideological disposition and political demeanor, woven seamlessly with her personal story, that has made her a compelling public figure and a rising talent within the British political landscape. Still, her reputation as a ‘pugnacious’ figure, coupled with her staunch anti-woke rhetoric and sharp critiques of identity politics, has polarized opinion around her. To some, she is a much-needed voice for traditional values and national identity; to others, her approach is seen as deeply divisive. The trajectory of these contrasting perceptions will ultimately determine her prospects in British politics, not just in her new role as Leader of the Opposition, but well beyond.
As a Nigerian, I instinctively celebrate her ascent, though we are, on several fronts, ideologically distant.
