For a “secret” plot, it has made an awful lot of noise. The “Sheekey coup” allegedly cooked up over fish dishes at a pricey London restaurant, weaving together Tory donors and disaffected but still influential aides, was spearheaded by a former cabinet minster, Simon Clarke, who last week demanded Rishi Sunak’s resignation.
The likely beneficiary was the ambitious Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who is now in the promising position of candidate most likely to benefit from a Sunak ouster or a crushing Conservative defeat, should recovery remain elusive by the general election.
In truth, this plot was more an amuse-bouche than a main course – a pre-taste of what the tussle for Tory power will look like, with a peek at the upcoming menu. But the “Badenoch express”, as one Tory MP puts it, is now powering ahead. So much so that she chose a round of TV interviews yesterday to swear loyalty to Sunak and condemn the plotters. At the same time, sacking the Post Office chairman also gave her the chance to boost a rising profile with admirers and advertise a forthright public persona.
Watching Badenoch being interviewed from a perch at the Sky studio yesterday was a reminder of what an impressive performer she can be – flinty but less rebarbative than competitors like the ex-home secretary Suella Braverman, with a good way of making her pitch sound reasonable, even to those who disagree with the “GB News” side of her thinking on immigration.
There are pitfalls to becoming the “candidate to beat” many months away from a transition – namely that the amped up attention invites more scrutiny of performance and criticism. Telling Sky’s Trevor Phillips that the plotters “are not my friends” and dismissing talk of installing her as “stirring” is a wise precaution.
In truth, Badenoch is both admired for her on-the-nose communication talents and also resented by many ministerial colleagues for being a bit grand, and for her close relationship with power players including Rupert Murdoch. That networking prowess attracts brickbats, including some muttering that she is high maintenance. “Always complaining about her status,” was the icy view of one former colleague.
And yes, there is a touch of self-awareness, latterly in the observation that the plotters had not consulted her – nor thought of “her family” – itself an interesting transition to the “royal we” way of speaking of position. When politicians start talking about the impact of their job on their families, it’s also a subtle way of claiming membership of the premier league.
Sitting in the Sky studio just after Badenoch’s outing, there is no doubt that she now nails media appearances with a fluency and spark too many of her peers on either side of the divide lack. For all the official denials that the luckless chairman of the Post Office was effectively dismissed, Badenoch was clear that this was the case. A key reason the Tory grassroots consistently polls her as their preferred leadership choice is that she speaks directly, even combatively, on topics others prefer to fudge or defer.
This does, however, mean that she will attract more scrutiny on how her department (Business and Trade) performs, and on many areas of post-Brexit achievement, that result is scanty. Having to resort to state-level deals with Florida via Ron DeSantis is not the same as a “big beautiful Trump-size deal” which free-market Brexiteers heralded as an inevitability.
But Badenoch is a determined contender with a fan base ranging from the old Cameron set, who appreciate her raw talent and “room to grow”, to the right of the party bruised by the Liz Truss era but endlessly discontent with Sunak. The right relished her fiery rhetoric this week condemning the net immigration figure.
“Kemi needs to nail the basics,” says one longstanding Conservative apparatchik who cites constituency frustration with her on local matters. Looked at another way, however, these are accusations often thrown at those who rise quickly, take shortcuts to high positions while colleagues slog it out in more junior ministerial roles for years – and bring pizzazz and an edge of jeopardy to the table.
The Post Office scandal allows Badenoch to show her power as a decision maker. Other members of that board will hardly sleep comfortably after she has signalled a readiness to “act” on the grounds that the company needs new leadership. The accompanying question is around her judgement: Henry Staunton was binned after only a year in the post. That is not an inviting prospect for a successor chairman, given the demoralised nature of the business and low remuneration (by the standards of City grandees).
In this case, Badenoch has a defence – namely that new leadership had not acted quickly enough – though a fairer appraisal might also point out that the Post Office was no slower to get involved to drive redress for victims than the Government.
The episode and abortive plot will both have served to raise the profile of a woman who is happy in the limelight. But political succession consists of many episodes, not just one-off drama. Badenoch looks and sounds like a refreshing future-proof politician – the promise a despairing party needs, if she can heed advice as well as channel her trademark self-belief.
But as any athlete can tell you, the most exposed place to be in a middle-distance race is front runner.
Anne McElvoy hosts the Power Play podcast for Politico
This is Kemi Badenoch’s most dangerous moment
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29.01.2024
For a “secret” plot, it has made an awful lot of noise. The “Sheekey coup” allegedly cooked up over fish dishes at a pricey London restaurant, weaving together Tory donors and disaffected but still influential aides, was spearheaded by a former cabinet minster, Simon Clarke, who last week demanded Rishi Sunak’s resignation.
The likely beneficiary was the ambitious Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who is now in the promising position of candidate most likely to benefit from a Sunak ouster or a crushing Conservative defeat, should recovery remain elusive by the general election.
In truth, this plot was more an amuse-bouche than a main course – a pre-taste of what the tussle for Tory power will look like, with a peek at the upcoming menu. But the “Badenoch express”, as one Tory MP puts it, is now powering ahead. So much so that she chose a round of TV interviews yesterday to swear loyalty to Sunak and condemn the plotters. At the same time, sacking the Post Office chairman also gave her the chance to boost a rising profile with admirers and advertise a forthright public persona.
Watching Badenoch being interviewed from a perch at the Sky studio yesterday was a reminder of what an impressive performer she can be – flinty but less rebarbative than competitors like the ex-home secretary Suella Braverman, with a good way of making her........
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