Kemi Badenoch
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch, Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke, Olukemi Adgegoke Badenoch
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Who is this?
Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke Badenoch (née Adegoke; born 2 January 1980) is a British politician who has been serving as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Conservative Party since November 2024. Badenoch previously worked in the Cabinet for prime ministers Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak from 2022 to 2024. She was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Essex, previously Saffron Walden, in 2017. In 2012, Badenoch unsuccessfully contested a seat in the London Assembly, but became a member of the London Assembly after Victoria Borwick was elected as an MP in 2015. A supporter of Brexit in the 2016 referendum, Badenoch was elected to the House of Commons at the 2017 general election. After Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in July 2019, Badenoch was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families. In the February 2020 reshuffle she was appointed Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities. In September 2021, she was promoted to Minister of State for Equalities and appointed Minister of State for Local Government, Faith and Communities. In July 2022, Badenoch resigned from government in protest at Johnson's leadership; she stood unsuccessfully to replace him in the July–September 2022 party leadership election. After Liz Truss was appointed prime minister in September 2022, Badenoch was appointed Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade and was appointed to the Privy Council; she was reappointed Trade Secretary by Truss's successor, Rishi Sunak, the following month, also becoming Minister for Women and Equalities. In the February 2023 Cabinet reshuffle, Badenoch assumed the position of Secretary of State for Business and Trade following the merging of the Department for International Trade with elements of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Badenoch retained the responsibilities of Women and Equalities Minister. Following the Conservatives' defeat in the 2024 general election, Badenoch was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in Sunak's Shadow Cabinet and later launched her bid to become leader of the Conservative Party in the 2024 leadership election. She defeated Robert Jenrick in the members' ballot, becoming party leader and Leader of the Opposition.
Career
- 1980Born
- 2024Won BBC 100 Women
- Won Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal
Trivia
- •Place of birth: Wimbledon
- •Citizenship: United Kingdom
- •Known as: politician, author
- •Spouse: Hamish Badenoch
What happened recently
As a Tory, I say things are looking up. Farage is fading, and the looming threat to No 10 is called Kemi
Kemi Badenoch’s weird week: defence of ex-neo-Nazi raises questions over Tory direction
Kemi Badenoch-led Conservatives vow to bar foreign nationals from social housing in England
Kemi Badenoch warned against inflaming Thetford unrest with threat to evict foreign nationals from social homes
Kemi Badenoch brands Reform 'woke' as she rejects coalition with Nigel Farage
The Guardian view on the Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch: purging moderation is not 'common sense'
Kemi Badenoch ‘sad’ over former antisemite’s withdrawal as Tory council candidate
Kemi Badenoch gives former neo-Nazi advisory role after he withdraws as Tory candidate
Former neo-Nazi withdraws as Tory council election candidate after Kemi Badenoch offers him job
Kemi Badenoch 'gives second chance' to local election candidate jailed for harassing Jewish MP
Kemi Badenoch makes bombshell demand as Andy Burnham urged to recall Parliament
Kemi Badenoch tells Zack Polanski and Nigel Farage to spend less time online
Three Welsh MPs in the new cabinet, Kemi Badenoch, the Llywydd, Sikhs in Wales and a new MS
Kemi Badenoch urges Andy Burnham to ditch looming 5p fuel duty rise or risk hammering hard
Kemi Badenoch may quit court over fear of eco damages bill worth trillions of pounds
Kemi Badenoch: 'It is a nasty, horrific attack and my heart is breaking for her family'
'How far their party has fallen': Kemi Badenoch slammed over vow to purge would be Tory MPs who back net zero targets
Kemi Badenoch criticised for vowing to purge former Tory MPs and prospective candidates who support net zero policies
Kemi Badenoch slams Labour's early prison release plan, says rapists, grooming gang offenders should not
