Kemi Badenoch was always walking a narrow path. The former business and trade secretary, now shadow housing secretary following the Conservative party’s disastrous election result, has had her eye on the leadership since she came fourth in the contest held two years ago.
Serving in such a high-status role in the cabinets of both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss (Badenoch was secretary of state for international trade in both, before Sunak added business to her brief) helped raise her profile – a remarkable accomplishment, given she only became an MP in 2017. But over the past year, as Rishi Sunak struggled to hold the Tories together in the face of a looming defeat, Badenoch’s brand has been tarnished by her role in his administration, particularly in the eyes of the party’s right-wing faction whose support she is courting.
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