Kemi Badenoch: ‘I’m Under Attack Over My Race and Ethnicity’

Kemi Badenoch, the first Black woman to lead the UK Conservative Party, has revealed she is facing a wave of racist abuse and personal attacks following her election—despite once describing Britain as “the best place in the world to be black.”

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Badenoch admitted she was caught off guard by the scale and intensity of the backlash, particularly from online critics and political opponents.

“There’s a certain cadre of people who clearly can’t cope with the fact that I won this and I’m doing it,” she said. “The level of personal attacks from anonymous people, it’s hysterical. 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?’”

Badenoch said much of the hostility she’s received has been laced with racial undertones, particularly on social media.

“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 added.

Born in Wimbledon and raised in Nigeria before returning to the UK at age 16, Badenoch has rarely spoken at length about her racial identity. She has previously criticised anti-racism campaigners and expressed skepticism toward critical race theory.

“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.”

“My view is that there are people out there who will say whatever it is, they will throw whatever kind of mud at you and they will hope that it sticks.”

As she prepares for her first party conference speech, Badenoch is also fending off internal speculation about her leadership, with reports suggesting a possible challenge from her shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick. With the Conservatives polling at just 17%, the pressure is mounting.

On claims that Jenrick could replace her, she dismissed the rumours:

“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.”