Leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has spoken out about the wave of racist attacks she has faced since becoming the first Black woman to head the party, describing the level of abuse as “hysterical.”
Badenoch told The Sunday Times in an interview, that she had not anticipated such hostility, particularly from anonymous individuals online. She noted that while criticism from fellow Members of Parliament has been limited, racist abuse on social media has been relentless.
“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,” she said. “Not even just from MPs. I actually don’t think it’s that many MPs. I think it’s two to three people out of 120. That’s nothing. But online as well. People used to talk about Trump derangement syndrome. I think there’s a Kemi derangement syndrome: ‘How could she possibly have done this?’”
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Badenoch revealed that many of the racist messages target her identity, with some accusing her of not being capable of reaching her current position independently.
“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 explained.
The Conservative leader, who was born in Wimbledon but spent much of her childhood in Nigeria before returning to the UK at the age of 16, has previously distanced herself from identifying as Nigerian by nationality, preferring instead to acknowledge her Yoruba heritage.
Reflecting on her earlier remarks that Britain is “the best place in the world for Black people,” Badenoch stressed that she still believes race is not the primary barrier to success in the UK. “I always try to think of every possible explanation before I go to race and racism. I think that is a healthy way to run a society,” she said.
“I remember when I stood up a few years ago and said Britain is not a racist country – ethnic minorities do very well here, it is white working-class boys who are actually struggling on a lot of metrics, and I got pilloried for that.”
Badenoch, who also serves as the MP for North West Essex, said she intends to remain focused on leadership despite speculation that her position could be challenged by Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick.
“I think it’s wishful thinking. There will always be people who are sore losers, our candidate didn’t win, and so on, and sour grapes … When I hear those things, I can tell those people are not focused on the country at all. Many of those people having those conversations think this is a game. But the lives of people in this country aren’t a game,” she told The Sunday Times.
Badenoch now faces a defining period in her leadership as she seeks to strengthen party unity and assert her authority amid internal divisions and external scrutiny.
