LGBT+ Conservatives ridiculed for celebrating Kemi Badenoch’s leadership win
Kemi Badenoch. (Getty)
The official LGBT+ Conservatives group has been mocked for congratulating Kemi Badenoch on winning the Tory Party leadership contest.
Badenoch became the new Conservative leader on Saturday (2 November) after beating Robert Jenrick by more than 12,400 votes among party members.
The official affiliated LGBTQ+ arm of the party called her appointment an incredible achievement. “We look forward to working with Kemi to hold Labour to account and build a popular Conservative offering in the 2029 Election,” their online post read.
The group also thanked Jenrick for “his brilliant campaign”.
The post was ridiculed by other sections of the queer community, who pointed out Badenoch’s history of anti-LGBTQ+, particularly anti-trans, rhetoric.
We would like to congratulate the Rt. Hon. @KemiBadenochMP on her election as the leader of the @Conservatives.
— LGBT+ Conservatives (@LGBTCons) November 2, 2024
This is an incredible achievement and we look forward to working with Kemi to hold Labour to account and build a popular Conservative offering in the 2029 Election. pic.twitter.com/4X5682lgTv
While equalities minister under the previous Tory government, Badenoch did nothing to boost the rights of trans and LGBTQ+ people.
During her tenure, she met with none of the leading LGBTQ+ organisations in the UK, but had a meeting with the notoriously anti-trans LGB Alliance.
Badenoch also failed to introduce a ban on conversion therapy, instead pushing a transphobic conspiracy theory that gender-affirming care is a “new form of conversion therapy“. She also voicing her opposition to equality initiatives, calling them “counter-productive.”
Doctoral researcher Thomas Willett responded to the post by writing: “You can’t even hold your own party to account for fostering the worst LGBTQ+ culture war since Section 28, of which Badenoch played a key role, let alone holding Labour to account. You’re a joke [LGBT+ Conservatives.”
The LGBTIQA+ Young Greens also voiced their feelings, saying they would not congratulate the MP due to her record on trans issues.
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