‘Aspects of Margaret Thatcher’: Tory members react to Kemi Badenoch’s leadership win

In the Northamptonshire town of Kettering this weekend, all the talk was of the long-awaited face-off between two rivals – one the clear favourite to triumph.

But before the FA Cup first round tie between Northampton Town and non-league Kettering got underway, one pub opened its doors early for local Tories to follow their own fixture.

At the Stirrup Cup bar and cafe, 30 or so members appeared fairly evenly split in how they voted in the final decisive round of their party’s leadership race.

After such a bruising general election, picking someone who could bring calm was a concern for many.

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Member and businessman Michael Walton told Sky News he chose Robert Jenrick at the last minute, despite thinking that Kemi Badenoch would “really rattle” Labour.

“In the end, I thought we need a period of stability, so I thought Robert would be the calmer of the two candidates,” he said.

Others took a different view of the path ahead, saying the Tories needed to move definitively to the right.

“The party is too centrist as we currently stand, we alienated core voters – which is why we lost the last election,” said one man.

Although even this Badenoch fan acknowledged her tendency to rub some up the wrong way, saying she could do with becoming more “rounded” as a politician.

There was some frustration as well that former Home Secretary James Cleverly didn’t make it onto the final ballot.

“I hope that Robert wins, I was also hoping that James would be his deputy as advertised, but James announcing last night that he was going to be a backbencher was a bit disappointing,” said local party chairman Mark Rowley.

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Speaking off-camera, others were more critical of the choice presented to them and the lack of any avowedly centrist candidate.

Some Cleverly fans said they would now be backing Kemi Badenoch, amid a lurking suspicion over Robert Jenrick’s sudden swing towards right wing politics.

“I think it’s an attempt to play to the members rather than his actual beliefs… Kemi is the better of the two options,” said member Josh Pitt.

As the final result was announced, a polite spread of applause rippled across the room.

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Kemi Badenoch’s first speech as leader impressed many, though – with tough talk around it being “time to tell the truth” finding favour.

“I saw aspects of Margaret Thatcher in her and I hope she is like that because I feel we need a strong leader. Previously, we’ve been a bit wishy-washy with Rishi Sunak,” said one young member.

A lingering tension remains though – after such a devastating defeat in July – could this combative politician be consumed by internal drama as she attempts to force her party to take a long look in the mirror?

Among the media at Tory conference last month, Badenoch was frequently referred to as the “journalist’s choice” – given her propensity for causing trouble and grabbing headlines.

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But the Deputy Chairman of the Kettering party Jonathon Smith sees this ability to garner attention as a positive.

“I don’t think she’s too worried about giving hard truths to people, I don’t think she’s going to be concerned about upsetting people in that way. I think politics is often about upsetting people, but in a polite way,” he said.

In the Northamptonshire FA Cup derby, Kettering got off to a bad start following a first half own goal before netting an extra-time winner to pull off a shock upset.

Tory members may be in for an equally dramatic ride with their latest choice of leader.