S Poddar
One of the contenders for the leadership post from the Conservative party, Kemi Badenoch, has already gotten herself in a controversy as her statement on maternity pay precipitated a whirlwind backlash. “The people need to take more personal responsibility” for the way benefits like maternity pay work, Ms. Badenoch said earlier in the day. It has subsequently drawn some criticisms over her own view on the issue.
Speaking to Times Radio, she said, “There was a time when there wasn’t any maternity pay and people were having more babies.” The comment did not take long to attract criticism as one of the leadership contenders, Robert Jenrick, spoke out against the idea. Jenrick himself is a father of three; he relayed his objection in a party conference event: “I don’t agree with Kemi on this one. I am a father of three young daughters.”. I want to see them get support when they go to work.”
Following the backlash, Badenoch explained her policy position on social media. She put on X, formerly Twitter: “Contrary to what people are saying, I very clearly said the regulation burden has gone too far. Of course, I believe in maternity pay! Watch the clip for the truth”. The post was intended to silence critics but did not. Her first words had already caused a ruckus in public discussion of what she said about the entitlement to benefits in the workplace.
In another interview the same morning, she said that she would not change her way of communications, which she characterized in responding to questions whether she does not attack a bit too hard, and that if she did something right with her mouth, she would do something wrong with her mouth. “I will swing back when people take aim at me,” she said, suggesting that she will not retreat from countering her critics. Already rising to prominence through a series of public rows, Badenoch has been at the center of a number of public clashes, often presented as part of an ongoing “culture wars.” She has also clashed with public figures, including actor David Tennant.
Questioning Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips criticisms, Badenoch fought back with a tart query: “Why is it that people worry about someone who talks back? They don’t like it when women talk back, they don’t like it when politicians talk back. I will talk back, I will not stand there and let people punch me.”. If you swing at me, I will swing back, but I don’t look for fights.”
This is the latest row as Badenoch continues campaigning for Conservative leadership with just weeks to go before a general election. Her tactics have, however polarized some voters and certain media figures. Barely two weeks before an election in summer, Tennant publicly attacked Badenoch at British LGBT Awards. In a pungent speech, he said he wanted the then-minister for women and equalities to “shut up.” He also hoped to wake up to a world in which Badenoch “doesn’t exist anymore,” but was quick to clarify that he did not “wish ill of her.”
Badenoch was equally blunt in reacting to the comments made by Tennant, charging him with being “a rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology he can’t see the optics of attacking the only Black woman in government.” This shows her readiness to defend herself publicly and vocally, even from leading public figures.
Her row with Tennant is not an exception. In his interview, Phillips pointed to other high-profile rows Badenoch has been involved in. Among them are former Conservative MP Nadine Dorries and ex-Post Office chairman Henry Saunter. Regarding this, Badenoch asserted she had not been the initiator of all these rows, saying, “What is interesting about all those three people is, there I was being nice, minding my own business, and then they came after me.”
The heat on the Conservative leadership contest has not cooled off. Badenoch is in competition with Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly, Shadow Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, and ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick. All of them are fighting for the top slot and still have more than a month to go before the November 2 date when the new leader will be declared. The final call will rest with the members of the Conservative Party who would vote for a winner.
Of course, given the contest has been able to go on this far, the candidates will have many more opportunities to speak directly to the voters. For instance, the Conservative Party conference begins today in Birmingham and lasts four days, presenting for all of the hopefuls a key juncture in which they will participate in hustings, Q&A sessions, and speeches as they battle to win over party members and the electorate.
Though former Home Secretary Priti Patel and Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride were earlier voted off in the first two rounds, the remaining contenders face all the more pressure to be different from each other. For Badenoch, who has only garnered both admirers and critics with her frank and combative style, it is next week to determine whether she can overcome the controversies and emerge as a front-runner.
