Kemi Badenoch and the future of the British Conservative Party – between ‘Fárígá’ and ‘Làákàyè’
By Femi Olugbile
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the British Conservative Party has a lot on her plate these days, beyond any bric-a-brac with Nigerian politicians who think she should be more ‘Nigerian’, or the rumpus generated by a ‘Professor’ newspaper columnist who has opined, bizarrely, based on tendentious historicity, that she cannot claim a Yoruba identity separate from Northern Nigeria because even the name ‘Yoruba’ does not belong to the Yoruba, as it was bestowed on them by ‘The North’, who have insinuated themselves so deeply into their fabric that they do not have a distinct history and identity of their own, really.
The Conservative Party is in the middle of an existential crisis, and the election of Kemi Badenoch as its leader is both an expression of that crisis, and an intentional ‘survival strategy’ against it. The pot that was simmering at the time Kemi was elected, is now boiling over.
At stake is not just the future of the Conservative Party, but the nature and identity of the United Kingdom itself. The fire of that existential battle is being stoked by events both within the United Kingdom and outside of it.
Dr Tunde Gbolade, a retired Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in Leeds who once served his local Conservative Party as representative for Wetherby and Easingwold is emphatic about why ‘they’, meaning the grassroots Conservative movement across the nation, were always certain that Kemi was the leader they wanted.
‘She says it as it is. She says what they are thinking, but which they are too nice, or too afraid of being given labels such as ‘Islamophobic’, to say.’
‘They’, in this latter context, refers not just to other politicians of a Conservative bent, but a majority of the British public.
There have been a few items in the news lately which illustrate the disquiet behind the scenes.
Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing Reform Party, recently accused Kemi of calling him a liar over his claim that his party now has more members than the Conservative Party. He has threatened to take her to court.
The Conservative Party is the party of the British establishment, and the embodiment of its essence and values, including its Monarchy.
Even before the public face-off, Kemi met with some broadcasters, including the operators of GB News, a Conservative News channel, to complain that the media were giving ‘too much coverage’ to Farage.
There was a widespread view that Kemi, shooting from the hip and taking no prisoners as usual, was playing into Farage’s hands, and would have done better by ignoring him.
The history of party politics in the UK is a long and tortuous one. The most relevant portion may be traced to 1784 when William Pitt the Younger emerged as the leader of a Tory Party which represented the interests of merchant classes and country gentry, while a Whig Party led by Charles James Fox represented religious dissenters and industrialists who were interested in parliamentary reforms. The Labour Party is of more recent provenance.
The Conservative Party and its antecedents have been involved in the ebb and flow of conflict and upheaval that eventually resulted in Britain’s ‘Constitutional Monarchy’.
‘Right-of-Centre’ Conservatives regard themselves as owners and defenders of the land. In modern times, they have had such colourful leaders as Margaret Thatcher, ‘the Iron Lady’, who pushed the party right-wards, but also broadened its appeal by extending property ownership ambition and reality to the working class.
Nigel Farage has been leader of the Reform Party since June 2024 and has overseen a rapid rise in the fortunes of the party, drawing members mostly from the ranks of disaffected Conservatives.
Though the Conservative Party is currently in opposition, its leadership is supposed to have a natural affinity with Republicans in the USA. Kemi visited the USA after the Trump victory to establish her presence with the incoming government. The Trump people apparently were not quite certain what to make of her. She did not get to Mar-a-Lago, and was only able to interface with incoming Vice President Vance.
Just as worrying is the fact that Kemi is yet enjoy a cosy relationship with techie Trump influencer Elon Musk, who appears to be Trump’s attack-dog in an intentional drive to disrupt European political space and create a ‘reinvigorated’ West.
Initially Elon Musk appeared to believe that Nigel Farage, one of the champions of Brexit, was the ‘strongman’ to be positioned to ‘rescue’ Britain. There was a rumour that he was planning to boost the Reform Party with a donation of ‘hundreds of millions of pounds.’ Such a massive infusion, coupled with an anticipated Trump bounce, could conceivably catalyse Reform to seize the mainstream, pushing the Conservatives aside, it was feared.
Musk has played down the rumour, and lately appears to have cooled off on Farage, possibly seeing him more clearly as a loudmouthed showman and political paperweight. There is the sense that the American Right is still shopping around for a champion to lead the Right-Wing fight-back in the UK. Kemi, as leader of the Conservatives, would normally be the go-to person, with Boris Johnson already passé. But it would seem they are yet to be convinced about Kemi’s clout and staying power, and she has her work cut out to win their support.
There is a lot of disaffection under the surface in British society. It is Kemi’s assignment to find the language to discuss and deal with delicate issues, which centre around intentional refusal of some minorities to integrate into British society and share its values, as immigrants to another land should. Rather they appear to harbour a ‘long game’ to ‘take over’. Some people speak longingly of a ‘London-istan’, citing the presence of Sharia and a growing number of mosques. Some people are convinced that the great Churches of England would ultimately suffer the same fate as Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia in Türkiye, with a creeping ‘conquest-by-infiltration’. There are illegal and unofficial ‘Muslim Patrols’ in Islington and some other parts of town, with posters on the walls instructing passing females to ‘dress properly’. There are enclaves that are ‘No-Go’ areas to the Police.
It is Kemi’s mission to find the language, and the spine, to integrate British society around British values. On the other hand, she would need to ‘clean up’ and rescue those values from the contamination of the Left and the ‘Woke’. In that overarching vision, the tenure of the present Labour government may only be an interregnum for her party to build the necessary structures with the public.
Current loud public discussion around Elon Musk’s condemnation of the UK government’s reluctance to name and face-off Pakistani groups who ‘groom’ young British girls for sexual assault may be a pointer to the gathering momentum for a post-Starmer Conservative era that would finally have got its act together, which would be able to delineate Right-wing from Racism, and commit the generality of Britons to a clearly defined ‘British-ness’.
It is a tall task, and the future is fraught with risk. Kemi’s table is creaking under the burden, as she ponders how to apply the right mix of ‘Fáriga’ – her fighting spirit, and ‘Làákàyè’ – a voice of calm reason. She was chosen for the task, and the die is cast.
