New Conservative party leader crowned
Published 2nd Nov 2024, 11:19 GMT
Kemi Badenoch has been elected as the new leader of the Conservative Party.
The former business secretary was declared the winner at an event in central London today (November 2) defeating rival Robert Jenrick by 53,806 votes to 41,388.
The North West Essex MP will replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the Opposition and seek to chart a path back to power for the Tories after their disastrous election defeat in July.
They face a significant challenge, with just 121 MPs after an election that saw the party lose seats to Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform.
A YouGov poll published ahead of the result found four in 10 voters had an unfavourable view of Ms Badenoch, including 29% of Conservative voters, while Britons were more likely to think Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer would make a better prime minister.