Kemi Badenoch has been announced as the leader of the Conservative Party but who is the new top Tory?
Badenoch has taken over as the new Tory leader following the disaster general election result for the party which lost 251 seats.
Months after the tumultuous election, Badenoch won the leadership race with 53,806 votes, beating rival Robert Jenrick by 12,418 votes and becoming the first Black woman to lead a major UK party.
She described her partys task as tough but simple as it is now in the opposition.
Badenoch and Hamish were spotted together at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham (Picture: Henry Nicholls/AFP)Now all eyes are on the 44-year-old who was not a clear favourite to win the leadership race.
But she has managed to become the darling of the Tory grassroots after positioning herself as an anti-woke politician firmly on the right with controversial views on LGBT+ rights, immigration and colonialism.
We look inside the private life of the Badenoch and those close to her.
Where was Kemi Badenoch born?
Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke Badenoch was born on January 2, 1980, in Wimbledon, southwest London.
She is one of three children born to her Nigerian Yoruba parents a GP and a professor of physiology.
Her professor mothers work took the family to the United States and Kemi grew up both in the US and Lagos, Nigeria.
After her A-levels at Phoenix College in Morden, south London, Badenoch worked at a McDonalds before studying computer science at the University of Sussex.
She went on to work in the IT sector before completing a law LLB degree in 2009 and working in the financial services and consultancy sector, including at Coutts and a brief stint at The Spectator as a digital director.
Who is Kemi Badenoch married to?
You could get away with not knowing the name of the Tory leaders husband as he has largely stayed out of the limelight until now.
Hamish Badenoch met Kemi when he was a Conservative activist in the Dulwich and West Norwood Tory association, which led to their friendship and his becoming her campaign manager.
Badenoch pictured leaving her south London home after she launched her leadership bid in September (Picture: Peter MacDiarmid/REX/Shutterstock)Hamish has been likened to Margaret Thatchers husband Denis who offered to give lifts to young Thatcher during her campaigns in the early 1950s.
Hamish, who lived near Badenoch in Herne Hill, offered to pick her up and drop her off when we had meetings, a source in the Dulwich and West Norwood Tory association told in Lord Ashcrofts biography.
What does Kemi Badenochs husband do?
Before the pair met, Hamish had worked overseas as a journalist in Malawi, a consultant in Nigeria and as the CEO of Avis car hire in Kenya, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He was educated at a Catholic boarding school run by monks the Ampleforth College before attending Cambridge University.
After a brief stint as a director of investment, Hamish began working at Barclays before moving on to Deutsche Bank where he is now a global head of real estate transformation.
He has also tried his wings in politics and he was a Conservative councillor in Merton Borough Council between 2014 and 2018.
Does Kemi Badenoch have children?
The pairs friendship during political campaigning turned into a relationship although it wasnt love at first sight, she told the Times.
Badenoch and Hamish married in 2012 and they have three children.
Their youngest a girl was born in September 2019.
They also have another girl and a boy.
Kemi Badenochs row with Dr Who actor David Tennant
Badenoch has gotten into hot water over her anti-trans views as the Minister for Equalities and Levelling Up Communities.
She has opposed moves to allow trans employees of the Financial Conduct Authority to self-identify in their workplace and opposed gender-neutral toilets.
Earlier this year, the Dr Who actor Tennant referred to Badenoch as the equalities minister at the British LGBT Awards, saying he wished she didnt exist any more, according to the Guardian.
As he accepted the award for being a celebrity ally, Tennant said he was depressed that acknowledging that everyone has the right to be who they want to be and live their life how they want should warrant a special prize as it is common sense.
He continued: However, until we wake up and Kemi Badenoch doesn’t exist any more – I don’t wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up – whilst we do live in this world, I am honoured to receive this.
Badenoch responded by posting on her X account: I will not shut up. I will not be silenced by men who prioritise applause from Stonewall over the safety of women and girls.
A rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology he can’t see the optics of attacking the only black woman in government by calling publicly for my existence to end.
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