We have a new leader of the opposition. Kemi Badenoch has been elected as leader of the Tory party with the lowest level of support ever recorded by someone holding that position. She could not even command an overall majority of that party's membership when winning this vote. 28% of its members did not even bother to vote at all. The idea that she has a mandate looks open to doubt.
However, Badenoch has never doubted anything about herself, and we can be quite sure that she will take this opportunity to do whatever she wishes.
That she will do just that was hinted at in her acceptance speech. She made it clear that she thought that the Conservative Party had failed of late. She also implied that it was time to question everything about its attitude towards government. The implications were obvious.
Firstly, I am quite sure that she meant that Rishi Sunak had moved too far to the left in political terms for her liking. Since that has very obviously been her view for some time, there is no great revelation in saying so.
More worryingly, what she is now implying is that she will, like Liz Truss, seek to fundamentally redefine what the Tory party is and move it much further to the right, in the process questioning what government should do. I think it is most likely as a result that she will seek to abandon her party's commitment to the government undertaking many of the activities that we have traditionally associated with it.
In other words,  we will now see Badenoch move the Tory party very much further to the right. She will be supported when doing so by a bunch of shadow ministers, almost all of whom will be very largely unknown. Each of them will learn some very simple lines, almost all of which will be wholly negative.
The response to almost anything that Labour does will be that the government should not be undertaking the activity in question, and that they are wasting taxpayer money when doing so.
There will be not a hint of positivity about any of her proposals. Everything will be along the standard Tufton Street lines of government wasting money that taxpayers could spend better.
What I would stress is that this is the second time in little over two years that the Tories have elected a leader dedicated to delivering this message. The last was, of course, Liz Truss. It did not work well for her because she was exposed to the problem of being prime minister whilst also hating absolutely everything about the role that she had been elected to undertake. Badenoch has the good fortune to be the leader of the opposition, which means that she can say that she hates everything about what the government does with impunity because she can claim that it is her job to do so.
The difficulty for Labour will be in finding methods of countering the charge that they are continually wasting money when, in practice, they are not spending enough to deliver the essential services on which the foundations of prosperity in this country are built.
Worryingly, given that we know that Labour always seems to tack right these days, the likelihood is that her words will influence what it does. The outlook for public services is grim as a consequence.
The election of Kemi Badenoch is not without consequence. The millions who will suffer because of the denial of essential services to them will be testimony to her achievement and she will proudly proclaim her success in delivering this outcome.
This is a grim day for the Conservatives, for the perpetuation of the single transferable party that embraces both the Conservatives and Labour, and for the people of the UK. No one needs a Tory party leader of the sort Badenoch will be.
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Slightly less of a Mossad appointment than Jenrick seems to be the only positive. Her status and reach may depend on the US election, as Tufton St may be massively enriched and emboldened by a Trump ‘win’.
Thank you, John.
One should not forget that last June some of the US donors to / backers of Tufton Street hosted some of the shadow cabinet in New York and Washington. The Koch brothers and Heritage Foundation have connections with Labour.
Badenoch said it was time to admit mistakes, to acknowledge falling standards, to tell the truth. Badenoch was a Conservative minister in the last Government. When in office, she had nothing to say about, mistakes, standards or the Government’s awkward relationship with “the truth”; but was aggressive and arrogant in pursuit of Conservative policy, and her own ambition. If Badench cared about mistakes on that scale; on falling standards or “the truth”; It was open to her to choose a principled resignation from office, and defend “the truth” from the back benches; or to leave the Party. She didn’t. Judge her for yourself; the best indicator of principles is typically, what people do; not what they say. Politicians, we know from experience, will say anything.
Kemi Badenoch new Tory leader: looks like we bring back flogging and hanging and deport all illegal immigrants, declare war on Argentina. Then we stop for breakfast and think about bombing Russia!
Badenoch won’t last long & like Hague, Howard & Duncan-Smith is just an interim leader of the opposition.
I hope so
What to say?
Her ethnicity and gender will be abused – talked of in glowing terms in the hope of cynically attracting voters , evidence (!) of modernity.
She will go on the attack at an already weakened Labour party for sure.
More people will become disenchanted as Labour perpetuates Tory policy, so Labour may will Terra-form the landscape for her at some stage unless she goes too far – which I think she might.
In a way, with her big mouth I am pleased it is her and not Jenrick who I think is more subtle, more crafty. But he will bide his time. He’s a real dark horse that one and needs to be watched. He’ll be back once Badenoch has served her purpose.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jun/24/robert-jenrick-planning-row-the-key-questions-answered
Agreed. The last three paragraphs very well said especially. It is indeed a grim day, most of all for how her leadership will influence the most right-wing Labour government that we have had.
I don’t expect much pushback from Labour as to her leadership and right-wing framing of issues. It is sad because a more sharp and able (left wing) Labour PM would have so much in the tank to counter Badenoch and her Tufton Street chums. All we have instead is Morgan McSweeney telling Kier ‘keep tacking to the right – as that’s what people want to hear’.
It’s a sad situation.
Thank you, PSR and DM.
I can imagine the scenario sketched by DM playing out after the 2026 local elections. That would give Jenrick time to prepare for 2029 and bring Reform aboard.
Labour have swallowed the Tufton street line so they are as bad as the Tories!
A massive opportunity for the Lib Dems. They should try and get some of the old Tory moderates like Rory Stewart on board.
”Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey”
Perhaps it’s a good thing that the Conservatives have a new leader who will move further still to the right. Don’t misunderstand, my own views are way left of Kier Starmer. And that’s the point. At present we have a single transferrable party. The Labour party is far to the right of Labour of yesteryear (as well as lacking competence). The Conservatives are extremely right wing. Reform is beyond the pale. Even the Libdems are tacking right.
So, if Conservatives tack further right perhaps they will eat Reform’s lunch. Both Labour and Libdems may also tack further right. And this will leave clear (pink?) water to the left of Labour. A perfect space for a new, truly left wing, party, which is what we need.
Sure, it’s horrible at the moment with too many people suffering, and even dying. But perhaps this sets the scene for a future left wing party.
If you think the conservatives are ‘extremely right wing’, it shows how confused you are about where the centre actually is.
Extremely right wing has obvious connotations which don’t get even vaguely close to actual Tory policies.
It’s typical far left rhetoric though.
The Tories are fascist adjacent, and are moving ever closer
Those from the genuine social democratic left who comment here know exactly what we are talking about
I strongly suspect you know that we are right
They are extremely right wing. Proud of it too. As far back as Cameron, Nick Griffin accused the Torys of stealing the BNPs policies, and compared side by side, for once in his life, Griffo was proved right. The Torys started the anti migrant ball rolling in earnest as long ago as 2001 with their ‘bogus asylum seekers’ claims, seeking to stir up hate with their strongest card – anti immigration.
Since then the party has whipped up hate against refugees, immigration in general, and its outliers have pushed the ‘great replacement theory’. Bedenoch, Braverman and Kendrick are in the forefront of the ‘mass immigration’ nonsense, a blatant lie, and one that goes constantly un challenged.
Then we have the Tory culture war, the attacks on the LGBT community, crackdowns on freedom of speech, the right to protest, and an obligation to force right wing activists on organisations that don’t want to touch them with a barge pole.
The hypocrisy of people who deny all this, while whining about ‘the left’ then complaining its they who’re being ‘oppressed’, yet their views dominate the press, media and social media, never ceases to amaze me.
@timkent Just a reminder that the Green Party is well to the left of Labour and came second in about 40 seats to Labour in July and over 800 cllr’s. If Labour continue tacking to the right they will lose seats to the Greens in 2029. By then of course we will be well over 1.5oC and closing in on 2oC and continuing climate collapse and who knows what will happen as more areas of the world become unarable and populations move. Truly terrifying.
Councillor by election in Wolverhampton won by Reform over Labour. Not surprised. West Mids is ripe Reform territory, I live there. Gammon Central. And if you think the Tories aren’t fascist adjacent, you have to be ignorant of political history.
Thank you, John.
Also the area where Jenrick comes from.
Enoch Powell was MP for Wolverhampton South West for nearly 24 years. Ted Heath sacked him very quickly as a shadow minister after his “Rivers of Blood” speech in 1968. (Indeed, Ted Heath would probably be to the left of many in the Labour party today.)
Today you have open admirers of Powell in the Tory party (certainly amongst the grassroots members), and indeed, Farage and his various outfits are the outworking of Powell’s legacy.
With all this, Powell (if he were alive today) would be pleased with his legacy.
Your first paragraph’concluding remark is correct. The new Tory leader has no mandate. They received about 53,000 votes which is equivalent to 0.114% of the UK electorate.
Richard, excellent satirical view from Russel Jones in today’s Byline Supplement ( I’ve slightly abbreviated )
Russell Jones’s Week Moment: ‘Yes Minister’ Remade as Reality TV, ‘Kem Hacker’ is the New Tory Leader
The bestselling author of ‘The Decade in Tory’ on Kemi Badenoch assuming the Jim Hacker role of ‘an over-promoted, delusional, publicity-seeking bungler at eternal war with the civil service’
“Remakes are the curse of our cautious, superficial age. Everything new is really just a slightly depressing, warmed-over rehash of something old. ……………. You have to take your hat off to anybody with the balls to touch one of Britain’s greatest cultural highlights: Yes Minister.
The spin on things this time is that it’s been remade as reality TV, with the plum role of Jim Hacker – an over-promoted, delusional, publicity-seeking bungler at eternal war with the civil service – being recast as a woman. She is embodied by newcomer Kemi Badenoch, exuding bombastic, vaudevillian swagger in the lead role of “Kem Hacker”.
Actors often imagine an entire backstory for their character or learn the necessary skills to fully embody them on stage and screen. Playing the cello. Skinning squirrels. Holding your breath for seven minutes. For Badenoch to fully embody Kem Hacker, she decided to commit the actual criminal offence of computer hacking. (Admitting hacking Harriot Harman’s computer in 2008) And, judging entirely from her warm and engaging performance, she seems to have imagined her character’s backstory was working as a dentist on the Death Star.”
THE HAIKU OF DESPAIR
Things were bad enough
But they can always get worse
Now they’re Badenoch
(Atilla the stockbroker)
Just imagine – you have a meeting with Heseltine – it is 1991. You are Mystic Meg (obvs not your real name – but go with it).
So Michael – I have some news from the future (Heseltine nodding).
In 2024, the leader of your party will be called BadEnoch – Heseltine shows surprise.
They are very right wing and want to privatise the NHS (H’s jaw drops).
They are a woman (H’ shrugs)
And she’s black. Large question mark above H’s head.
The way to understand all this is by reading the introduction of “Late Soviet Britain”. – which shows that provided you are a neo-libtard cheerleader – you can be anything – chinese transexual dwarf (illustrative) would get you elected provided you delivered the right ideological fuel to the troops. Adherence to barmy economic-retardism coupled to “imigrants x 10” trumps all.
Will the last person to leave the tory party please switch off the lights.
Very interesting article about living in the new extreme right-wing Finland with “the coalition intent on ending Finland’s long history of welfarism in just one term …”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/04/finland-progressive-rightwing-government
How much damage do they have to cause before people realise how dangerous they are?