Kemi Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, has spoken candidly about the racism and hostility she has faced since becoming the first Black woman to lead the party.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

According to Nivo News, Badenoch told the Sunday Times that she was surprised by the intensity of the abuse directed at her after her election, much of which originated online rather than within Parliament. She said only a small number of Conservative MPs were involved, estimating just two or three out of about 120.

“There’s a certain cadre of people who clearly can’t cope with the fact that I won this and I’m doing it. The level of personal attacks from anonymous people, it’s hysterical,” Badenoch said. “I think there’s a Kemi derangement syndrome: ‘How could she possibly have done this?’”

She added that the abuse often carried racist undertones, including suggestions that she could not have achieved her position on her own. “There’s 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,’” she noted.

Badenoch, who was born in Wimbledon and grew up in Nigeria before returning to Britain at 16, has rarely spoken extensively about race. She has frequently criticised anti-racism campaigners and rejected claims that Britain is a racist country, recalling that she was widely condemned for previously stating that ethnic minorities do well in the UK while white working-class boys often face greater social struggles.

As she prepares for her first party conference speech amid polling figures that place the Conservatives at 17%, speculation has grown over whether Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick could challenge her leadership.

Responding to rumours of an impending leadership contest, Badenoch dismissed the claims as “wishful thinking,” accusing critics of treating politics like a game rather than focusing on the country’s needs.

“There will always be people who are sore losers, whose candidate didn’t win. But when I hear those conversations, I can tell those people are not focused on the country at all. The lives of people in this country aren’t a game,” she said.