Kemi Badenoch pledged a return to Tory ‘principles’ today after being crowned as the new leader.
The shadow housing secretary triumphed over rival Robert Jenrick when the result of a ballot of Conservative Party members was announced in central London.
But the scale of the task she faces was underlined as more big beasts – including James Cleverly and Jeremy Hunt – signalled they will not seek to serve in the shadow cabinet.
And the figures suggested there has been an alarming fall in the party’s membership, to just 131,000 – many of whom did not even bother to vote this time.
In her speech, Ms Badenoch paid tribute to Rishi Sunak and also praised Mr Jenrick’s ‘energy’.
However, she acknowledged that the previous government had ‘let standards slip’ and the party must woo back voters. ‘The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for the future,’ she said.
Appealing for Mr Jenrick and other senior figures to join her top team, which will be appointed in the coming days, she told him: ‘You and I know we don’t actually disagree on very much… We have come through this campaign more united.’
Ms Badenoch said Keir Starmer had given the Tories an opportunity with his shaky start. ‘The PM is discovering all-too late the perils of not having such a plan,’ she said.
Ms Badenoch received 53,806 votes to 41,388 for Mr Jenrick – 56 per cent to 44 per cent, closer than many expected. Turnout was only 72.8 per cent.
She was congratulated by Sir Keir for becoming the first black leader of a major UK political party – another first for the Tories while Labour has yet to have a woman in charge.
The moment brings to an end a four-month contest to succeed Mr Sunak that saw bruising blue-on-blue attacks and claims of ‘dirty tricks’.
During the campaign the candidates aimed brutal barbs at each other, with Ms Badenoch questioning Mr Jenrick’s ‘integrity’ – and him suggesting the Conservatives will ‘die’ with her at the helm.
In an early boost for Ms Badenoch, it has been confirmed that the threshold for triggering a Tory no-confidence vote has been raised from 15 per cent of MPs to 33 per cent.
Polls of activists had suggested that Ms Badenoch would be the victor – but they are notoriously hard to survey. She had raised concern towards the end of the campaign that activists were shunning the ballot.
In 2022, when Liz Truss defeated Rishi Sunak, 141,725 members out of a total of around 172,000 voted in that leadership contest.
However, there this time there were only 131,680 Tory members eligible to vote for their next leader, a drop of 23 per cent. Turnout fell from 82.6 per cent to 72.8 per cent meaning just 95,000 voted.
While previous Tory leaders secured more than 60 per cent of the vote, Ms Badenoch was backed by 56.5 per cent of those who took part.
The previous record lows for both membership and number of votes was in 2019, when 139,318 out of around 159,000 Tory members at the time took part and elected Boris Johnson over Mr Hunt.
The percentage turnout is also the lowest on record, under the 78.4 per cent from 2005.
Conservative membership stood at around 310,000 when members were given a vote on the leadership for the first time n 2001.
Ms Badenoch faces a mammoth task to restore Tory fortunes and see off the threat from Reform after the astonishing July election rout that reduced the party to just 121 MPs.
They will also have to achieve the revival without some of the surviving ‘big beasts’. James Cleverly – seen as the favourite for leader until his shock eviction in the final round of voting by MPs last month – has announced he will not take a job in the shadow cabinet.
Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has also said he will not seek to serve, as has ex-deputy PM Oliver Dowden. There are rumours that Sir Oliver will quit the Commons, with ousted Cabinet stalwart Grant Shapps said to be eyeing his seat.
Mr Sunak has insisted he will not leave Parliament, but is expected to return to the backbenches.
Ms Badenoch said in her speech that it was an ‘enormous honour to be elected in this role, to lead the party that I love, the party that has given me so much’.
‘I hope that I will be able to repay that debt,’ she said.
Mrs Badenoch smiled as she thanked her family: ‘There are so many people to thank; firstly, my family, especially my husband Hamish – I couldn’t have done this without you, thank you for being with me every step of the way.’
‘I also want to thank Rishi, no one could have worked harder in such difficult times – Rishi, thank you for everything you did, we all wish you and your wonderful family the very best for the future.’
James Cleverly has become the latest Tory big beast to rule out serving on the new leader’s front bench.
The shadow home secretary said he did not want to be ‘boxed back into a narrow band’ after being ‘liberated’ by his own bid for the top job.
Mr Cleverly was seen as the favourite to take over from Rishi Sunak until his shock eviction in the final round of voting by MPs last month.
The decision to step aside, revealed in comments to the Financial Times, will spark speculation that he is positioning for another tilt should Mr Sunak’s replacement Kemi Badenoch crash and burn.
Shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt has also declared he will be taking a break from frontline politics.
Former Deputy PM Oliver Dowden announced his own departure from the Tory senior team in his final clash with counterpart Angela Rayner last month.
His valedictory tone fuelled rumours that he could even step down from the Commons, with ex-Cabinet veteran Grant Shapps said to be eyeing a comeback at a by-election.
Rishi Sunak has moved to quash similar speculation about his own intentions, laughing off claims he is planning to move to California and become a tech executive.
Turning to her rival, Ms Badenoch said: ‘Rob, we have all been impressed by your energy and your determination. You and I know that we don’t actually disagree on very much, and I have no doubt that you have a key role to play in our party for many years to come.
‘I would also like to thank all the other candidates: Priti, Mel, Tom and James, for your kind words and your many insights.
‘We have come through this campaign more united and the party needs you now more than ever.’
Ms Badenoch said her task was ‘tough but simple’.
‘Our first responsibility as His Majesty’s loyal Opposition is to hold this Labour Government to account,’ she said.
‘Our second is no less important. It is to prepare over the course of the next few years for government, to ensure that by the time of the next election, we have not just a clear set of Conservative pledges that appeal to the British people, but a clear plan for how to implement them, a clear plan to change this country by changing the way that government works.
‘The Prime Minister is discovering all too late the perils of not having such a plan.
‘That huge job begins today.’
In a striking admission about the problems she is inheriting, Ms Badenoch said: ‘This is not just about the Conservative Party, it is about the people we want to bring back to the Conservative Party, it is about the people we need to bring into the Conservative Party.
‘It is about what the Conservative Party needs to be over the next five, 10 and 20 years.
‘Our party is critical to the success of our country, but to be heard we have to be honest – honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we let standards slip.
‘The time has come to tell the truth. The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for our future, to reset our politics and our thinking, and to give our party, and our country, the new start that they deserve.
‘It is time to get down to business, it is time to renew.’
Mr Jenrick congratulated Ms Badenoch in a post on X. ‘Congratulations to Kemi Badenoch,’ he said.
‘Thank you to everyone who supported my vision for a Conservative Party rooted in the common ground of British politics.
‘It’s now time for the Conservatives to unite behind Kemi and take the fight to this disastrous Labour Government.’
Emma Levin, Associate Director of polling firm Savanta, said: ‘Despite being the presumptive winner for many months now, not since David Cameron’s unexpected victory in 2005 has there been such a relative unknown elevated to leader of the Conservative Party.
‘For Kemi Badenoch, this may well prove to be a positive, as she gets a new opportunity to present herself to the public, and represent a clean break from a deeply unpopular Conservative government – even if she was a part of it.’
Immigration, the economy, and how the Conservatives can rebuild trust with the electorate and win back voters they lost at the election have all been discussed at length through the campaign.
The party lost seats to Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK in the July poll.
Dame Priti Patel, Mel Stride, Tom Tugendhat and Mr Cleverly spent the summer campaigning alongside Mr Jenrick and Ms Badenoch after they put their names forward in the nominations at the end of July.
Dame Priti and Mr Stride were the first two contenders to be eliminated in September, leaving four by the time the party gathered in Birmingham for its autumn conference.
While the candidates spent four days vying to secure votes, both Ms Badenoch and Mr Jenrick found themselves embroiled in rows during the conference.
Ms Badenoch ended up asserting her support for maternity pay after comments caused a controversy.
Meanwhile, Mr Jenrick faced heat from other leadership rivals over claims he made about UK special forces.
Shadow home secretary Mr Cleverly looked in pole position after the conference, coming top of the third ballot of MPs with 39 votes, while Mr Tugendhat got knocked out after securing only 20.
But surprisingly Mr Cleverly then did not make the final two names to be put to members the following day, securing only 37 votes compared with Mr Jenrick’s 41 and Ms Badenoch’s 42.
MPs were blamed for trying to be ‘too clever’ by engaging in tactical voting to engineer who else was in the final two.
Since then Mr Jenrick and Ms Badenoch have been travelling up and down the country in their attempts to secure member support.
At the start of the campaign, Ms Badenoch wrote in The Telegraph that the party ‘need to get back to first principles’ and has been light on the details of specific policies she would enact.
Amid the events and speeches, Mr Jenrick criticised his opponent for offering up what he called ‘a promise of a plan’ rather than more concrete policies.
He told the BBC’s Westminster Hour in October that ‘I think it’s disrespectful to the members and the public to ask for their votes without saying where you stand on the big issues facing our country today’.
Mr Jenrick added: ‘A plan today is what I offer. A promise of a plan at some point in the future is what my opponent offers, and I don’t think that’s the way to rebuild the public’s trust and confidence in us.’
The contest was triggered after Mr Sunak announced he would step aside in the wake of the party’s election defeat in the summer.
Earlier this week the former prime minister played down suggestions that he would be leaving Westminster for California, and told MPs that he would be spending more time in the ‘greatest place on earth’.
‘If anyone needs me, I will be in Yorkshire,’ he told Prime Minister’s Questions.
There was speculation earlier this year that the Richmond and Northallerton MP – who previously worked at a hedge fund in California – could be in line for a job in Silicon Valley.
‘Today is my last appearance at PMQs and I’m happy to confirm reports that I will now be spending more time in the greatest place on earth where the scenery is indeed worthy of a movie set, and everyone is a character,’ he said.
‘That’s right, if anyone needs me, I will be in Yorkshire.’
The Conservatives returned MPs in 121 seats at the July poll, down hundreds on their 2019 result, having secured less than 25 per cent of the vote nationally.
Speaking on Downing Street the morning after the election, Mr Sunak apologised to the country and his party.
‘To the country, I would like to say first and foremost, I am sorry,’ he said.
‘I have given this job my all, but you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change.
‘And yours is the only judgment that matters.
‘I have heard your anger, your disappointment, and I take responsibility for this loss.’
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s result, Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the contest has shown the Conservatives are ‘refusing to take responsibility for the damage they did to the country’.
She said: ‘Whoever wins the Conservative Party leadership contest will have to carry the can for years of failure that tanked the economy and left the NHS on its knees.’
‘Thank you. Thank you, everyone.
‘And I want to start by thanking Richard Fuller for his work as our party chairman since July. And also Bob Blackman as returning officer for this contest. You and your teams have done us all a great service. Thank you.
‘But I also want to pay tribute to everyone in the Conservative Party who has been involved in this very long campaign. It has been an experience none of us candidates will ever forget. Thank you for hosting us in your communities, in your village halls, in your pubs and in your homes.
‘It is the most enormous honour to be elected to this role, to lead the party that I love. The party that has given me so much. I hope that I will be able to repay that debt.
‘There are so many people to thank. Firstly, my family, especially my husband, Hamish. Hamish, I couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you for being with me every step of the way.
‘I also want to thank Rishi. No one could have worked harder in such difficult times. Rishi, thank you for everything you did. We all wish you and your wonderful family the very best for the future.
‘I’d also like to pay a special tribute to Robert Jenrick, who has fought a great campaign. Rob, we have all been impressed by your energy and your determination. You and I know that we don’t actually disagree on very much. And I have no doubt that you have a key role to play in our party for many years to come. Thank you.
‘I’d also like to thank all the other candidates, Priti, Mel, Tom and James, for your kind words and your many insights. We have come through this campaign more united and the party needs you now more than ever.
‘The task that stands before us is tough, but simple. Our first responsibility, as His Majesty’s loyal opposition, is to hold this Labour government to account.
‘Our second is no less important. It is to prepare over the course of the next few years for government, to ensure that by the time of the next election, we have not just a clear set of Conservative pledges that appeal to the British people, but a clear plan for how to implement them.
‘A clear plan to change this country by changing the way that government works. The Prime Minister is discovering all too late the perils of not having such a plan. That huge job begins today.
‘It will seek to involve all of our colleagues in Parliament, in the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd, our friends in Northern Ireland, as well as councillors and party members. But this is not just about the Conservative Party. It is about the people we want to bring back to the Conservative Party.
‘It is about the people we need to bring into the Conservative Party. It is about what the Conservative Party needs to be over the next five, ten and twenty years. Our party is critical to the success of our country. But to be heard, we have to be honest.
‘Honest about the fact that we made mistakes. Honest about the fact that we let standards slip. The time has come to tell the truth. The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for our future, to reset our politics and our thinking, and to give our party and our country the new start that they deserve. It is time to get down to business. It is time to renew.’