The culture warrior and the populist: Badenoch and Jenrick in profile
Kemi Badenoch
Combative culture warrior unafraid to come out swinging
Age: 44
Bio: Born Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke in Wimbledon, south London in 1980 after her mother flew to London for maternity treatment, but grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where her father was a doctor and her mother an academic.
Moved at 16 to London to take her A-levels while staying with family friends and working at McDonald’s, where “I became working class”. Studied computing at Sussex University where “stupid lefty white kids” made her “more Conservative”.
Worked in finance and as digital director of the Spectator, from which she resigned rather than take maternity leave.
London assembly member from 2015; elected MP for Saffron Walden in 2017. Served as trade secretary and minister for women and equalities and had other junior ministerial roles under Johnson, Truss and Sunak. Long seen as a protege of Michael Gove, although the relationship “is not what it used to be”.
Has three children with her husband, banker Hamish Badenoch.
Policies: Enthusiastic Brexiter, socially conservative, “anti-woke”. Calls herself a “gender-critical feminist” who opposes self-ID for trans people (“We’ve got gay marriage, and civil partnerships, so what are transsexuals looking for?”). She is opposed to “identity politics” and critical race theory, has argued “not all cultures are equally valid” and said discussions of empire should include the “good things”.
Controversies: As a minister she publicly accused a journalist of “creepy and bizarre” behaviour for asking questions, had a public spat with actor David Tennant, and was accused of “bullying and traumatising” staff while business secretary (which she denied).
Claimed up to 10% of civil servants are “so bad they should be in prison” and described maternity pay as “excessive” (she later said her words had been “misrepresented”). Argued in a campaign leaflet that people with autism get “economic privileges”.
Fun fact: Badenoch admitted, and apologised for, hacking the Wikipedia page of Harriet Harman before she was elected an MP to say Harman had defected to the Conservatives.
They say: “I don’t wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up,” (actor David Tennant on receiving an award for being an LGBT ally).
She says: “I will not stand there and let people punch me. If you swing at me, I will swing back. But I don’t look for fights.”