Kemi Badenoch Says Racism And Online Abuse Won’t Stop Her As Tory Leader

Kemi Badenoch has opened up about the racism she has encountered as the first Black woman to lead the Conservative Party, describing her surprise at the level of abuse.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, the Tory leader admitted she had not expected such hostility after her election, despite previously declaring that Britain is “the best place in the world to be black.”

“There’s a certain cadre of people who clearly can’t cope with the fact that I won this and I’m doing it,” Badenoch said. “The level of personal attacks from anonymous people, it’s hysterical. Not even just from MPs. I actually don’t think it’s that many MPs. I think it’s two to three people out of 120. That’s nothing. But online as well. People used to talk about Trump derangement syndrome. I think there’s a Kemi derangement syndrome: ‘How could she possibly have done this?’.”

She added that social media has amplified “a lot of ethno-nationalism creeping up, lots of stuff about my race and my ethnicity and the tropes around, ‘well, she couldn’t possibly have done this all by herself’.”

Badenoch, who has previously distanced herself from her Nigerian heritage and criticized both anti-racism activism and critical race theory, reiterated her belief in addressing issues without defaulting to race.

“I always try to think of every possible explanation before I go to race and racism. I think that is a healthy way to run a society,” she said. “I remember when I stood up a few years ago and said Britain is not a racist country – ethnic minorities do very well here, it is white working-class boys who are actually struggling on a lot of metrics, and I got pilloried for that. My view is that there are people out there who will say whatever it is, they will throw whatever kind of mud at you and they will hope that it sticks.”

Her comments come as she prepares for her first party conference speech amid speculation of a leadership challenge from shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick. With Conservative support stalled at 17%, pressure is mounting on Badenoch to consolidate her leadership.

On rumors Jenrick could replace her, she dismissed them as “wishful thinking.”

“There will always be people who are sore losers, our candidate didn’t win, and so on, and sour grapes,” she said. “When I hear those things, I can tell those people are not focused on the country at all. Many of those people having those conversations think this is a game. But the lives of people in this country aren’t a game.”