Kemi Badenoch is a force of nature. She could well be the next leader of the Conservative Party. If she does pull this off, it will be a remarkable rise for a politician who only entered parliament seven years ago.
Kemi has always been herself. She has spoken her mind; some might say too freely. She has fought for what she believes and has been, according to some, too “abrasive”.
When people speak of politicians being too “abrasive”, I’m always reminded of the saying often misattributed to Winston Churchill: “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life”.
Of course, Winston Churchill never said this and come to think of it, I don’t believe Kemi has any real enemies. Yet the point still stands. Politicians who say what they think and mean what they say often fall foul of others who may be less sincere and more calculating.
The reason Kemi is doing so well is precisely because of her courage in speaking her mind. She did this from the start of her career in parliament. Always offering her opinions, never backward in coming forward. She was never deferential, but never expected to be deferred to.
Things of course might have changed as she rose up the greasy pole. The life of a junior minister, still more of a Cabinet minister, is very different from that of a junior backbencher.
Surrounded by civil servants and advisers, Cabinet ministers can often be quite detached from backbench colleagues, constituents and others who keep MPs grounded.
I don’t know how Kemi has adapted to high office. I only worked with her when she was in junior roles, but I think she is a formidable force, still unafraid to speak her mind, challenging the “wokerati”, expressing herself in a forceful and lively way, which is inevitably distorted by the media or less friendly colleagues.
On the issues, I have to say, other than a strong love of Britain, borne of her experiences in Nigeria and here in the UK, I can’t really say exactly where she stands. She comes across as a sound conservative and she has plenty of common sense. This is quite rare for politicians I have worked with.
She is a traditional conservative, but the Conservatives will need more than their core vote to make progress. Only time will tell if Kemi as leader can widen the Conservatives’ appeal.
Labour, regrettably, have shown that the success of the opposition can largely be simply a fact of the failure of the government. I and former colleagues sadly bear some responsibility for that.
Kemi, for all her freshness and force, has a tough opponent in Robert Jenrick. I have not endorsed any of these candidates. I happen to like both. Robert is a bit quieter perhaps than Kemi, but he has an excellent temperament for politics.
An ability to stay calm, even under the gravest of circumstances, is a quality which is essential for a good leader. I learnt this in government. Robert Jenrick has this quality.
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Kemi also is robust and calm, but I think what may distinguish her, among members, is the fearless way she speaks her mind.
To some her lack of diplomatic niceties or the graces of political discourse may be tedious. MPs are notoriously thin skinned.
Having got through the MP round, she will perhaps be on more familiar ground. Tory members are inclined to want a straight shooter who says it how is.
For this reason, I suspect, the bookies have her as the favourite in this contest. Only a short time now will tell if they are right.
