Ex-Tory chair who called party Islamophobic gives her vote to Kemi Badenoch
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi recently resigned the Tory whip in parliament before she was suspended in a race hate row, but still gets a vote in leadership contest
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The ex-Tory peer who called out the party for being Islamophobic has in a shock move given her backing to Kemi Badenoch with a “hope and prayer” that she will bring sanity to the Conservatives.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who has recently published her book Muslims Don’t Matter, said she might regret voting for Ms Badenoch but sees her as the least worst option.
She said: “I know I am probably going to regret doing this but I also know the alternative is far far worse. Taking a chance on Kemi.
“Hoping and praying she can find a way back to sane, non culture war, grown up, serious and trusted politics once this leadership battle is over.”
The comment seems to be more of an indictment on Ms Badenoch’s rival in the final two Robert Jenrick, who has been campaigning on an openly right-wing ticket to cancel the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and take a strong pro-Israel, anti-Hamas stance on the war in Gaza. Baroness Baroness Warsi was previously been enraged by Mr Jenrick wearing a shirt bearing the words: “Hamas are terrorists”.
Baroness Warsi recently quit the parliamentary party when an investigation was launched into her language, but still gets a vote as an ordinary party member.
The peer, who was made party chair by David Cameron in the coalition government, has previously called out the Tories for Islamophobia, but was investigated for describing Rishi Sunak as a coconut - a derogatory term meaning a person of colour on the outside but white on the inside. The term has been applied to Ms Badenoch as well following her critique of identity politics.
But her support for Ms Badenoch has not been publicly welcomed by the former business and trade secretary’s team. A source close to her simply replied with an emoji showing gritted teeth.
In a sign of the current state of the Tories, an ally of her rival Robert Jenrick messaged: “Well that’s a massive boost for the Jenrick camp.”
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