The race to lead Britain’s Conservative Party has reached its final stage with just two candidates left vying for the top position. The selection will see either Robert Jenrick or Kemi Badenoch emerge as the next leader of the opposition Conservative Party.
In a recent voting round, Badenoch, a former business secretary, secured 42 votes out of the 120 cast by Tory lawmakers, while Jenrick, a former immigration minister, garnered 41 votes. Both candidates belong to the right-wing faction of the party. The third contender, former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, was eliminated from the race after receiving 37 votes. Cleverly, a centrist, had topped the previous voting round but fell short in the latest ballot.
The field of candidates has shrunk from six contenders to the final two through a series of four voting rounds conducted by lawmakers. The ultimate decision will be in the hands of tens of thousands of party members nationwide, with the winner set to be revealed on November 2.
Hailing from Nigeria, Badenoch positions herself as a disruptor advocating for a low-tax, free-market economy. She has pledged to reimagine the British state through a process of “rewiring, rebooting and reprogramming.” In contrast, Jenrick champions deep cuts to immigration and the revisiting of European human rights legislation. He has been considered a frontrunner in the race since its inception in July.
The elected leader will take charge of a right-of-center party that faced a significant defeat in the last election at the hands of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. The Conservatives experienced a substantial loss of over 200 seats, reducing their total to 121, marking their worst electoral performance since 1832.