How Long Does Kemi Badenoch Have?
Recent polling by Deltapoll shows that only 38 percent of Britons could identify Kemi Badenoch from a photograph. Speaking at the Royal Academy of Engineering, Badenoch joked,
“People didn’t seem to be getting the message that I was an engineer.”
Her choice of venue was to emphasize this point. One year and two days into her leadership of the Conservative Party, her joke drew polite laughter but also revealed a deeper reality: most people outside Westminster neither know nor care who she is.
This week marks a critical anniversary for Badenoch. It is the moment when Conservative MPs can formally challenge her leadership. Over the past year, their feelings have shifted from hope to despair.
Conservatives who initially thought the 2024 election represented their lowest point have witnessed the party's polling fall dramatically. When Badenoch assumed leadership, the party polled steadily at 25 percent; now it sits at just 16 percent.
- The Conservatives trail behind Reform, Labour, and occasionally even the Liberal Democrats and Greens.
- Their status as a leading government party is seriously undermined.
- Their position as the main opposition is increasingly doubtful.
These developments highlight an uncertain future for Kemi Badenoch and the Conservative Party under her leadership.
Author's summary: Kemi Badenoch’s leadership faces skepticism amid declining party support and low public recognition, challenging her role as Conservative leader after one year in office.