North East Tories welcome appointment of Kemi Badenoch as Conservative Party leader
by Daniel Hall · ChronicleLiveKemi Badenoch's appointment as Conservative Party leader has been largely welcomed by North East Tories.
On Saturday morning, Ms Badenoch was declared the new leader of the opposition, beating her closest rival Robert Jenrick by 53,806 votes to 41,388. The North West Essex MP replaces the outgoing leader and former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Former business secretary Badenoch hopes to become the UK's first Black Prime Minister but the party has a lot of ground to make up, with just 121 Tory MPs in Parliament after Labour's landslide victory in July. She has come under fire for her combative style, and there are worries that this could lead to unnecessary disputes which could divert focus away from reclaiming lost political territory.
At the recent Conservative party conference in Birmingham, she was forced to clarify remarks that seemed to suggest she thought maternity pay was excessively high and that incompetent civil servants deserved jail time. She has also clashed with large parts of the LGBT+ community for her stance on gender identity and transgender rights.
During her time as equalities minister, there were calls for her resignation after three Government advisers on LGBT+ issues resigned due to the Conservative Government's inaction on banning gay conversion therapy. Ahead of the leadership race, leader of South Tyneside Conservatives Liam Bones called for the national party to move towards the centre-ground in July, but the appointment of Badenoch sees the party remaining on the right.
However, some Tories see her straightforward and no-nonsense manner as the perfect counter to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. And her appointment has been largely welcomed in the North East - including by Mr Bones, who believes she will do a "wonderful job".
Mr Bones told ChronicleLive: "I think she'll do a wonderful job, particularly in terms of bringing back some credibility that we maybe lost over the past couple of years, but also in offering those new and fresh ideas. I also think she is in a way a lot more relatable than Keir Starmer and I think that will help us going forward.
Mr Bones, who is the Conservative candidate for North Tyneside mayoral election for May's upcoming contest to replace incumbent Dame Norma Redfearn, who is stepping down, said it is now about the party listening to what the country wants. He added: "The Conservative Party is a very broad church.
"I think it's important we haven't weighted ourselves to moving right, left, whatever, it's about having that listening exercise now which is exactly what Kemi is committing to. The main thing now is we all come together behind the new leader and take the fight to Labour not just at the local elections in May but in the years going forward."
The appointment of Badenoch has also gone down well in Northumberland, with the president of the county's Conservatives, Richard Wearmouth, describing her as forthright and having a clear vision for the country.
He added that she was the "perfect antidote" to Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party, who he slammed for "trashing the rural economy" and the cancellation of the A1 dualling north of Morpeth - a decision which the previous ruling Conservative Government delayed several times in their 14 years in power, only to announce it would go ahead in the run-up to July's general election.
Mr Wearmouth said: "As residents of Northumberland would expect, leader of Northumberland County Council Glen Sanderson and myself are already in contact with Kemi's team about the issues that matter to our residents and we look towards elections in 2025.
Gordon Stewart, cabinet member who represents Prudhoe South, said: "I am pleased that the long selection process is now complete and a new strong leader is in place to challenge the dysfunctional Labour Government, who have quickly lost the respect of the public and caused so much concern to many residents."
Northumberland Conservatives' sentiments were echoed by Tory councillors in Sunderland. In a joint statement, they said: "Kemi is a force to be reckoned with. She has stood up for common sense and conservative principles during her time in politics."
They added that Ms Badenoch's "no nonsense attitude" would be a refreshing change to Sir Keir Starmer, and that she would "renew the Conservative Party."
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