Following the resignation of Boris Johnson last week, a British-Nigerian woman, Kemi Badenoch, has declared her intention to run for the position of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Recall that Johnson had quit his position as prime minister on last Thursday after the massive resignation of parliament and aides following his apology for appointing a senior colleague facing sexual assault claims into a sensitive and vprominent office.
Badenoch who was one of the over 60 members who resigned was a former equalities minister.
The 42-year-old is one of latest Conservative MP to join the race to become the next prime minister and party leader.
Despite the call for his resignation, Johnson insisted that he will stay on for as long as his successor is yet to be appointed
In an article published on The Times newspaper overnight, Badenoch said that the British public was “exhausted by platitudes and empty rhetoric” of Boris Johnson and demanded change.
“I’m putting myself forward in this leadership election because I want to tell the truth, It’s the truth that will set us free”, she said.
“Without change the Conservative Party, Britain and the western world will continue to drift” and rivals will “outpace us economically and outmanoeuvre us internationally.”
During her tenure as equalities minister, Badenoch was criticised over delays in banning conversion therapy by members of the government’s LGBT+ advisory panel, who said she should stand aside for someone who “had more heart for the work”.
Meanwhile, a timetable for the leadership contest is expected to be released on Monday and the the winner would be installed by the party’s annual conference in early October.
Also vying for the PM position is former finance minister Rishi Sunak, His resignation sparked a lot of reaction on Tuesday
Sunak received massive support from several senior MPs following his declaration.
He tops the latest poll of Conservative party members who will eventually choose their next leader, as the preferred choice of a quarter of respondents followed by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who was supported by 21 percent, and then Defence Secretary Ben Wallace with 12 percent, according to the Opinium poll for Channel 4 News.
Others intending to run are: Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat and Attorney General Suella Braverman.
Similarly, a source close to Hunt told British media said former health and foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who lost to Johnson in 2019, was “virtually certain” to run again.