Kemi’s uphill task to win back the Tories

The season of goodwill is fast approaching but I think the leader of the Conservative Party, Okukemi Badenoch may well be already out of festive cheer. Perhaps it’s the disconnect between her heritage and her party politics but whenever I think this must surely be the most reactionary, racist and unkind version of a political party in official opposition on record in the UK, I’m further jolted by the recognition that person leading this charge well… could be my sister.

Except, the Rt Hon Mrs Badenoch has made it clear through Tory party pronouncements that she’s no ‘sista, friend nor advocate’ to this country’s minority groups or those who find themselves vulnerable and disenfranchised in any way.

Ever since British political discourse became a race to the extreme right and competition to see who could ‘out-Farage, Farage,’ Badenoch has been doing her level best to put clear daylight between herself and the merest inference that she’s acting in the interest of anyone who looks like her.

Just think of how unsettling it has been to hear of senior members in the Conservative party speak of retrospectively changing immigration rules that would not only give Reform UK a run for its money but also deeply unsettle families who have made the UK their home for many decades.

One of the flagship issues in Tory proposals on managing immigration include revamping the Indefinite Leave to Remain (IRL) category of residency. A party spokesman confirmed that plans to lower immigration numbers included stripping IRL from those who received benefits, a similar punishment for those who committed a crime and for anyone whose income fell below £38,700 for six months or more - if you consider that figure is higher than the median UK salary of £31,461, then you see how very cruel this system would be.

What makes these plans even more disconcerting is the lack of any real details; imagine doing everything by the letter of the law and the Tories rip up the rules book and everything you’ve worked towards is taken away?

Look, I get it. Kemi Badenoch is leading a party that is in an existential fight for its very identity and survival. After the drubbing it received in the last elections - the worst in living memory - Badenoch must feel like she’s fighting for political scraps. Voters abandoned the Conservatives in droves now Badenoch is at great pains to show there’s a new sheriff in town and she’s the new Thatcher - despite her skin colour and background.

In fact, I feel that’s a less than subtle message the party is keen to get out. Victoria Atkinson, MP for Louth and Horncastle, recently remarked on a radio appearance that ‘Kemi is speaking to the people who voted for the Conservatives in 1979 about aspirations [those] who want to do better for themselves and their families - work hard and do the right thing’. It seems that message of wanting to do well for yourself and your family only applies to very certain demographic.

I’ve previously written in this very publication of Kemi Badenoch’s readiness to dismiss criticisms surrounding racism in the United Kingdom. In her previous ministerial posts Badenoch was a self-styled colonel in the anti-woke culture wars. In addressing issue surrounding racism in her current capacity there is still very little acknowledgement of the lived experiences of so many who have felt the slings and arrows of prejudice and discrimination.

In a recent interview with ITV in the aftermath of her party conference speech, Badenoch declared: ‘This is not a racist country. I talk about racism in my life; I’ve actually said that it’s been very minimal. Every country has this; there is nothing unique about the UK in that respect. I think this is one of the best, if not the best country to be black but that does not mean we should be complacent. I talked in my speech…about that we are a multiracial country but…We mustn’t become a multicultural country where people have different values and retreat into fragments of society. We need shared loyalties’.

I won’t attempt to unpack everything in that single paragraph but suffice to say it was not aimed at someone like me. There’s also the absolute arrogance in assuming if something has only ever happened to you in a capacity you consider minimal, then that’s the extent of the issue.

Despite all of Kemi Badenoch’s attempts at a Maggie-esque rebrand, the minimising of any kind of racism in the United Kingdom and being the face of immigration policies that will mostly hurt hard-working, law-abiding families, the uncomfortable truth is Badenoch has still not been wholly embraced by the Tory party faithful.

A recent Ipsos poll made for grim reading: only around one in five Britons (22%) expect Kemi Badenoch to become Prime Minister, against three in five saying it is unlikely (63%). This includes nearly half (48%) of 2024 Conservative voters questioning her chances. So not only have she not made the impact the Conservatives hope she would’ve by this point, but even Tory voters don’t rate her chances.

Internal faux pas have not helped. The leaked photos of Tory party conference merch with ‘Britain’ misspelled was a major own goal. Next was the revelation that two participants in a video on stamp duty reforms featuring Badenoch were not members of the public as the material implied.

In fact, Labour were scathing in their review: ‘Kemi Badenoch has been caught red-handed trying to pretend that the chair of a local Conservative association is an ordinary member of the public in a staged video. If the Conservatives have to resort to using their own activists to endorse their policies, it says everything about how desperate they’ve become’. Ouch.

Kemi Badenoch and the Conservative party are fighting an uphill battle here. Hardcore party members would prefer Robert Jenrick as their leader, a man who has not ruled out a pact with Reform UK. It’s becoming more difficult to work out what Kemi Badenoch actually stands for.

Under her leadership, ideas for electoral victory have not felt innovative. They appear desperate and reactive. Badenoch is attempting to woo back voters who will never vote for a political party held by a black woman. Never. So why not take the opportunity to refresh, rebrand and reignite the Conservatives? Appeal to the old centre ground. For the good of the country and even the Tory party, please Mrs Badenoch, stop trying to appeal to those who will never like you, no matter how many minorities and vulnerable groups you throw under the bus.

Amina Taylor is a journalist and broadcaster. She is the former editor of Pride magazine and works as producer, presenter and correspondent with Press TV in London.