NevTheSweeper wrote: ↑Sat Nov 02, 2024 12:21 pm
The second BAME and fourth female to be elected leader of the Conservatives. Unlike Labour, who have NEVER elected either a BAME or female. She should play this to her advantage to convince such voters that Starmer isn't on their side. My prediction: Conservatives to be back in office at the next election.
2 things:
1. The people who would actually be impressed by - and more likely to vote for - a black and/or female leader are progressives. The people who would be very, very happy with a middle-aged white guy are conservatives. So for that to be an advantage Badenoch is in entirely the wrong party. They, like Sunak and Braverman, are more likely to be seen as useful cover for bigoted shithousery but otherwise expendable than anything else.
(And to head off the response that she beat a middle-aged white guy - it’s because she’s a bigger horrific arsehole, and that has direct appeal to Tories short-term plus plays into that whole useful cover thing. Can’t be racist and sexist with a black woman leader!)
2. Regardless of all the above, she is absolutely terrible - arrogant, ill informed, rude, a bully, a liar, gaffe prone, charmless, grudge-holding. The list is remarkably long, even for a Tory.
My prediction: Badenoch will not be leading the Tories at the next election, and they will not win it anyway because under her leadership they will now need even longer to rehabilitate themselves, if they even can. There is nothing to suggest any hidden depths or talent or appeal lurking in the least popular and least well supported conservative leader that could help her turn things around, especially in 3 or 4 years time when improvements made by multiple Labour budgets and decent management of the country will be starting to pay real dividends and be strongly felt.