Britain | Tory story

The race to become leader of Britain’s Conservatives

An exhausted party seems to think that it doesn’t have to change

Collage illustration featuring Tom Tugendhat, Mel Stride, James Cleverly, Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick and Priti Patel on a blue background with white brush strokes.
Illustration: Nate Kitch

Kemi Badenoch has a reputation for pugnacity, which is why many Tories think she should succeed Rishi Sunak as the party’s leader. But when addressing Angela Rayner, Labour’s new deputy prime minister, in the House of Commons on July 19th Ms Badenoch sounded jaded. Ms Rayner’s hope of pepping up housing construction was doomed, she said. There would be a deluge of angry emails; Labour’s new MPs would revolt.

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From the August 3rd 2024 edition

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