New ‘Thatcherite’ Kemi Badenoch who could ‘Make Britain Great Again’

UK conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is quickly gaining widespread attention for her bluntness, impressive grasp of detail and her no-nonsense ‘anti-woke views’. See the video.

She is combative, does not have a filter, and unabashedly speaks her mind.

But Kemi Badenoch could very well become Britain’s first black Prime Minister.

Her bluntness is part of the appeal, just as is her “impressive grasp of detail”.

And a month after assuming the leadership of the UK Conservative Party, former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott, says it is clear she is a “true believer in making Britain great again”.

Indeed he says if anyone can take on Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Labour Party, it’s the 44-year-old.

“Kemi was the minister for my final 12 months on the UK board of trade,” Mr Abbott said.

“She had an impressive grasp of detail and a clear idea of exactly what she wanted to achieve.

“Kemi has no doubt about why her family chose to come to Britain and is a true believer in making Britain great again, a slogan originally used by the Conservatives in Churchill’s post-war election campaigns.”

Tony Abbott says Kemi Badenoch is a “true believer in making Britain great again”. Picture: Peter Nicholls/Getty Images

Mr Abbott left the board of trade this year and didn’t hold back in his criticisms of the former Conservative government which endured immense upheaval, including a revolving door of leaders, most notably in recent years with Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak all holding the top job.

“More generally, though, and most regrettably, in its latter days, the former government often seemed adrift and unsure how to be different from Labour,” Mr Abbott said.

A pleasure to catch up with @HonTonyAbbott in Washington DC.

Change only happens when conservatives around the world work together. pic.twitter.com/C7KWTr2RM8

— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) December 6, 2024

“Kemi will create the strong contest that’s needed in order to win elections – and an election can’t come fast enough to let voters pass judgment on a government that seems to have coasted into office with no clear plans about how to deal with the country’s pressing problems”.

Ms Badenoch shared on social media platform X in the lead up to her leadership battle a letter of praise from Mr Abbott and she said she was “grateful” for his support.

“Tony is someone I greatly admire both as a thinker and a leader of his party,” she wrote.

Ms Badenoch has been dubbed by some in the media as a “Thatcherite”, sharing similar conservative values of the late British prime minister Margaret Thatcher including her no nonsense “anti-woke” views.

I am very grateful for the support of Tony Abbott, the brilliant former Prime Minister of Australia. @HonTonyAbbott

Tony is someone I greatly admire both as a thinker and a leader of his party. His backing for my own leadership campaign shows how @Renewal2030 has captured the… pic.twitter.com/xlnduJsLsS

— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) September 2, 2024

Former Conservative MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng has been among those to liken her to Ms Thatcher.

“There are parallels. I think some of the personality. I did meet Margaret Thatcher a couple of times,” he said in a TV interview on the UK’s Channel 4.

“I mean they are straight shooters. They say it how it is.”

Badenoch has been dubbed by some in the media as a “Thatcherite”, sharing similar conservative values of the late British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Ms Badenoch last month praised US president-elect Donald Trump and said a UK-US free trade deal will protect Britain, urging Sir Keir to act swiftly.

“It shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for Labour. The return of President Trump is that golden opportunity”,” she recently wrote in the UK’s Telegraph newspaper.

As for race issues, she previously said: “I tell my children this is the best country in the world to be black – because it’s a country that sees people, not labels.”

When it comes to climate Ms Badenoch has previously described herself as a “net zero sceptic” and has repeatedly suggested the UK’s net zero targets would “bankrupt the country”.

She said the UK’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050 should be scaled back.

“We still have the ambition to get to net zero by 2050, but we have to remember that we are only 1 per cent of world emissions,” Ms Badenoch said.

“If we bankrupt ourselves trying to get there, we won’t achieve net zero.

“We will also be in a worse position in terms of tackling climate change”.

Kemi Badenoch is congratulated by her husband Hamish after winning the Conservative Party leadership contest on November 2, 2024 in London, England. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The London-born politician is the daughter of Nigerian parents and spent most of her childhood years in the UK and Nigeria before moving back to the UK when she was 16.

She trained in computer systems engineering and has three children – two girls and a boy – with her husband Hamish.

The UK’s July election resulted in a wipe-out of the Conservative Party after 14 years in office, with Labour winning 412 seats compared to the Tories with just 121 seats in the House of Commons.

The maximum five year term in the UK no doubt makes it a lengthy period for Ms Badenoch to win back the voters that deserted the Conservative Party in droves at the last general election.

Mr Johnson has also repeatedly ruled out a political comeback but remain sceptical about his public dismissal of any potential return to office.

Badenoch launched her Conservative Party Leadership campaign on September 02, 2024 in London, England. Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Ms Badenoch previously served in cabinet in the Truss and Sunak governments from 2022 to 2024 and her electorate is North West Essex, a seat she has held since 2017, located about 65km northeast of London.

When this masthead travelled to Essex county to find out the view of her constituents, most were supportive of her while others declined to comment on the record and instead said they wouldn’t vote for her.

Graham Wensley, 72, from Chelmsford in Essex said: “I like her. I think she’s very good for Essex, she is very intelligent and very articulate”.

While Philip Greenoff, 60, a maintenance supervisor from Chelmsford said: “I don’t know a lot about her.

“I must admit I voted Labour but I wouldn’t do it again”.

Among Ms Badenoch’s senior aides includes Australian woman Sonia Zvedeniuk, whose LinkedIn profile has shared numerous images with her boss and she most recently held the role as special adviser to Ms Badenoch at the department for business and trade.

Badenoch with her senior aide, Australian Sonia Zvedeniuk. Source: LinkedIn

Ms Badenoch, a member of the Conservative Party’s right-wing faction, has addressed many key issues in the early days of leading the party including the nation’s high migration numbers.

In a recent video she said: “The truth is that for nearly 30 years mass migration has been far, far too high under all governments by all parties and not just here, too high all across the western world and it can’t continue.

“I’m saying no more, the system is broken. We can’t go on like this and we need to change.”