Kemi Badenoch, the first person of African descent to lead the Conservative Party, was elected as its leader on Saturday, succeeding Rishi Sunak.
The Conservative Party announced her win in a post on X on Saturday.
” ANNOUNCED: @KemiBadenoch has been elected Leader of the Conservative Party,” the party tweeted.
The BBC also reported that Badenoch, 44, beat Robert Jenrick after a four-month contest, sparked by Sunak’s resignation in the wake of a humiliating election defeat.
The vote saw a turnout of 72% according to Conservative MP Bob Blackman.
According to a YouGov study, the majority of people have yet to form an opinion about Ms Badenoch. But 40% of those polled said they disliked her.
Former justice secretary Robert Buckland stated that Ms Badenoch “will be an excellent person to work with” as a leader, having witnessed her strong character and ability firsthand while they were both in office.
“She knows that the party’s values need to be reset and that we’ve got to win trust as without trust, we don’t get anywhere in terms of electoral success,” he added. “I think she better understands that more than most and that’s why she deserved to win.”
The role as opposition leader was an “unenviable task” and Ms Badenoch “will not be under any doubt about the scale of work ahead to win back power”, he added.
“She is the person who had more MP support than any other in the leadership race so people need to knuckle down and get on with the job of opposing the government, not opposing each other.”
He added that he hoped a “new phase in politics” would see Ms Badenoch unite the party and “the Tories regrouping”.
He also suggested that she listen to think tanks and policy units who have the expertise to provide her with new and innovative policies.
“It’s going to be very hard and unglamorous, but I believe Kemi has the strength of spirit to do it,” he said.