KEMI Badenoch surged into fourth place — knocking out heavyweight Nadhim Zahawi and flop Jeremy Hunt.
Winning over 40 of her colleagues, she is now placed better than diehard Brexiteer Suella Braverman and centrist Tom Tugendhat to go even further.
Kemi Badenoch surged into fourth place after winning over 40 of her colleagues[/caption]
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and ex-Cabinet big beast Jeremy Hunt were dumped out after failing to get enough support[/caption]
Supporters say her campaign is gathering momentum just like David Cameron — who as a complete unknown trounced big beasts to win the leadership in 2005.
Kemi last night tweeted: “To win the next election and deliver Conservative solutions to today’s problems, our party must stand as the party for change.
“I have the conviction, the courage, and the clarity of thought to deliver that change.”
So could our next Prime Minister be a virtually unknown black female Tory MP who has never served in Cabinet?
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The 42-year-old is the daughter of Nigerian parents who spent her early years in their home country, worked hard for an engineering degree and learned about finance working for a bank.
She made her spectacular leap from obscurity to defeating the current Chancellor and ex-Foreign Secretary in last night’s vote by softly telling hard truths about tinderbox issues.
A woman cannot have a penis. No tax cuts without savings.
She was waging war on woke before the phrase reached these shores from the US. And it has ignited an explosion of support.
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“I don’t like to say very much actually,” she said after winning The Spectator Speech of the Year award five years ago.
“My motto is ‘Be bold, be brief, be gone’.”
Kemi has deployed this approach with devastating effect, famously warning foam-flecked Labour race warrior Dawn Butler to watch her tongue during a heated Commons clash.
And as Equalities Minister, she floored ultra-woke Tory MP Caroline Nokes who asked if trans girls should share dormitories with female-born children.
She gave a one-word answer: “No.”
To most, these are statements of the blindingly obvious. But in this seething woke era of career-ending Twitter storms, they require clear, cool — and rare — courage.
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Her willingness to speak out against left-wing cant has created a quietly growing army of fans.
Last night’s stunning breakthrough is just the beginning for freedom fighter Kemi.
