Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the UK’s Conservative Party, has responded to criticism suggesting her rise to leadership was due to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. In an interview with “The Times”, Badenoch said some individuals within and outside the party are struggling to cope with her winning the leadership, resulting in intense personal attacks mostly from anonymous sources.
Badenoch likened the backlash to “Kemi derangement syndrome,” drawing parallels with the phrase “Trump derangement syndrome.” Critics imply her success is attributed to DEI, portraying black people in a negative light as “lazy, corrupt or all DEI hires” — a notion Badenoch finds “extraordinary.” She stresses the importance of taking “everyone at face value”.
“There’s a certain cadre of people who clearly can’t cope with the fact that I won this and I’m doing it. The level of personal attacks from anonymous people is hysterical,” she said.“People used to talk about Trump derangement syndrome. I think there’s a Kemi derangement syndrome.”
Badenoch said she’s been targeted online with racist rhetoric because of her race and ethnicity. She noted Robert Jenrick, who lost to her in the leadership race, wasn’t behind the speculation.
“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’. People who used these tropes were trying to tell a story about me that is wholly untrue and which everyone around me knows is untrue,” she said.
“I think even Rob himself finds it distressing, but it’s just something that we deal with.”
Kemi Badenoch became the first black woman to lead a major UK political party in November 2024, succeeding Rishi Sunak. Her leadership follows the Conservatives’ worst electoral defeat in July, ending 14 years of Conservative rule under Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.
