Kemi Badenoch has been the surprise package of the Conservative Party leadership contest so far, making it to the final five when more high-profile names like chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, transport secretary Grant Shapps, former health secretaries Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt and attorney general Suella Braverman have fallen by the wayside.
Ms Badenoch, 42, the MP for Saffron Walden in Essex, was among the deluge of more than 50 ministers who resigned in protest at Boris Johnson’s handling of the Chris Pincher affair and declared her candidacy for the party leadership one day after he stepped down.
