By Anas Abbas
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has spoken of the racist abuse she has faced since becoming the first Black woman to head the party, describing the hostility as “Kemi derangement syndrome.”
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Badenoch said the attacks came not only from anonymous users online but also from a small number of MPs.
She explained: “There’s a certain cadre of people who clearly can’t cope with the fact that I won this, and I’m doing it. The level of personal attacks from anonymous people is hysterical. Not even just from MPs. I actually don’t think it’s that many MPs. I think it’s two to three people out of 120. That’s nothing. But online as well. People used to talk about Trump derangement syndrome. I think there’s a Kemi derangement syndrome: ‘How could she possibly have done this?’”
She pointed to a rise in ethno-nationalist rhetoric on social media, where critics sought to undermine her achievements because of her background.
“There’s a lot of ethno-nationalism creeping up, lots of stuff about my race and my ethnicity and the tropes around, ‘well, she couldn’t possibly have done this all by herself,’” she said.
Born in Wimbledon and raised partly in Nigeria before returning to the UK at 16, Badenoch has often resisted attempts to define her by race.
“I always try to think of every possible explanation before I go to race and racism. I think that is a healthy way to run a society,” she said.
“I remember when I stood up a few years ago and said Britain is not a racist country,ethnic minorities do very well here, it is white working-class boys who are actually struggling on a lot of metrics and I got pilloried for that.
“My view is that there are people out there who will say whatever it is, they will throw whatever kind of mud at you, and they will hope that it sticks.”
As she prepares for her first party conference speech, Badenoch faces questions about her leadership amid speculation of a potential challenge from shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, with the Conservatives polling at just 17 percent.
She dismissed the rumours, however, calling them “wishful thinking” and “sour grapes.”
“When I hear those things, I can tell those people are not focused on the country at all. Many of those people having those conversations think this is a game. But the lives of people in this country aren’t a game,” she said.