‘Aspects of Margaret Thatcher’: Conservative Party members react to Kemi Badenoch’s leadership victory

This weekend in Kettering, Northamptonshire, all the talk was about the highly anticipated showdown between two rivals, one of whom is the clear favorite to win.

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

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

After such a difficult general election, choosing a person who could bring calm was a problem for many.

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

“At the end of the day, I thought we needed 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 decisively to the right.

“The party is too centrist as we are now, we’ve alienated core voters – that’s why we lost the last election,” one person said.

Although even this Badenoch fan admitted her penchant for doing the wrong thing, saying she could do with being a more “well-rounded” politician.

There was also some disappointment that former Home Secretary James Cleverley did not make the final ballot.

“I hope Robert wins, I was also hoping James would be his alternate as announced, but James’ announcement last night that he was going to be a back-up member was a little disappointing,” local party chairman Mark Rowley said.

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Speaking behind the scenes, others were more critical of the choices they were given and the lack of any clearly centrist candidate.

Some Cleverly fans have said they will now support Kemi Badenoch amid latent suspicions over Robert Jenrick’s sudden turn towards right-wing politics.

“I think this is an attempt to play on the contestants rather than his actual beliefs… Kemi is the better of the two options,” said contestant Josh Pitt.

How the final result was announced– Polite applause swept through the hall.

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But Kemi Badenoch’s first speech as leader impressed many, with strong talk of “time to tell the truth” finding support.

“I saw aspects of Margaret Thatcher in her and I hope she is the same because I feel we need a strong leader. We used to be a bit unsure of ourselves with Rishi Sunak,” said one of the younger members.

But lingering tensions remain – after such a devastating defeat in July – could this combative politician be consumed by internal drama as she tries to force her party to take a long look in the mirror?

Among the media at last month’s Conservative conference, Badenoch was often described as “the journalist’s choice” – given her penchant for stirring up trouble and grabbing headlines.

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But Kettering deputy party leader Jonathon Smith sees this ability to attract attention as a positive.

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

In the Northamptonshire FA Cup derby, Kettering got off to a poor start after an own goal in the first half before scoring the winner in extra time to cause a shock.

Members of the Conservative Party may be in for an equally dramatic situation with their latest leadership choice.