Lord Soames backs Kemi Badenoch to repair Conservative celebration
Kemi Badenoch has received the backing of the Tory grandee who is Winston Churchill’s grandson, as the leadership race enters its final weeks.
The Shadow Housing Secretary is described as ‘formidable’ by Lord Soames and the person who can ‘not only unite the party but reinvigorate us’.
Writing in the Mail, the former MP hails her ‘positive vision’ as well as her ‘no-nonsense approach’ that he believes can win back former voters.
‘Kemi not only holds dear the principles that underpin the party – truth, integrity, family, equality under the law, limited government and national sovereignty – but more importantly she has the courage to stand up and fight for them.
‘We as Conservatives have been too afraid to defend conservatism, we need someone who cannot be shouted down, who will not give up when things get difficult, and most importantly someone who won’t bend their principles to the day’s newest voguish cause,’ Lord Soames says in what may be seen as a veiled swipe at rival candidate Robert Jenrick, who quit as Immigration Minister last year and since become increasingly right-wing.
Writing in the Mail, the former MP Lord Soames (pictured) hails Kemi Badenoch’s ‘positive vision’ as well as her ‘no-nonsense approach’ that he believes can win back former voters
Over the weekend Mrs Badenoch also received the endorsement of former minister Mims Davies
The 76-year-old Lord Soames, a minister in John Major‘s government, says that Mrs Badenoch already has the most support from elected Conservatives.
The latest tally – just 10 days before the ballot of party members closes, with the winner to be announced on November 2nd – shows that more than 220 councillors, 40 MPs and 40 peers are backing her, as are more than 30 candidates at this year’s election.
Last night a campaign spokesman said: ‘Lord Soames is a titan of the Conservative movement and his endorsement demonstrates how Kemi is bringing the very best of our party together in her project of renewal.
‘Just in the last week, Kemi has won the backing of several experienced Tory peers, including Baroness Jenkin, Lord McLoughlin and Lord Forsyth. They can see that Kemi has what it takes to unite the Conservative Party, cut-through in opposition and lead us back to government.’
Over the weekend Mrs Badenoch also received the endorsement of former minister Mims Davies, who had originally wanted James Cleverly to win, and Dame Harriett Baldwin, who supported Penny Mordaunt in the 2022 contest.
From the business world, the 44-year-old was backed by former Pizza Express chairman Luke Johnson, who said she ‘she understands we must revive and re-energise the British economy’.
In another apparent swipe at Mr Jenrick, whose campaign has focussed heavily on his demand for Britain to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, Mr Johnson told the Telegraph: ‘What matters to me is who has a wider agenda beyond the issue of migration.’
Kemi Badenoch has received the backing of the Tory grandee who is Winston Churchill’s grandson. (Pictured, Winston Churchill)
The Shadow Housing Secretary is described as ‘formidable’ by Lord Soames and the person who can ‘not only unite the party but reinvigorate us’
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mrs Badenoch revealed that her mother did not want her to run for party leader.
‘My mum just thought that politics is a very horrible business. People are mean to you. They say all sorts of nasty things and it’s dangerous,’ she said.
Last week veteran Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope accused Mrs Badenoch of being ‘preoccupied with her children’.
But she said there should be more discussion about ‘how parenting is a two-person job’.
She told how her investment banker husband Hamish is ‘in all the parents’ WhatsApp groups’ and can go to parents’ evenings at school for their three children.
