Ah, that infamous Tory infighting. It just doesn’t go away, does it? A new ‘countdown clock’ has appeared on the social media platform X, which lists the days until Kemi Badenoch will – supposedly – be ousted as leader of the Conservative Party.
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Who is behind the Kemi Badenoch ‘countdown clock’?
With 60 posts now in the bag since the creation of the account earlier this month, the profile (@kemicountdown) has started attracting attention elsewhere. The Daily Mail now reports that an ‘anonymous Tory MP’ is behind the page, posting or resharing content every day.
The account biography states that they are ‘counting the days, counting the letters’ until Monday 3 November. That date is hugely significant for the Tories, as it marks the first day a fresh leadership challenge can be launched under their existing rules.
Tories set for ANOTHER leadership contest?
Should enough party MPs submit their letters asking for Kemi Badenoch to quit her position as leader of the opposition, it will force another leadership contest – less than 18 months after Badenoch beat Robert Jenrick in the last one.
Instability continues to dog the Tories. Their 14-year stint in government came to an undignified end, following the scandals which plagued Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and to a lesser extent, Rishi Sunak. Though the damage was done, there was initially hope that Badenoch could revive fortunes.
Kemi Badenoch accused of taking the Tories backwards
However, she’s had the opposite effect. Just under a year ago, the Tories briefly led the opinion polls on roughly 30%. Along with Labour, they have slipped as low as the mid-teens in some recent surveys. This has caused a huge amount of internal grumbling.
How long Kemi Badenoch survives in her position after early November remains to be seen. But with Reform currently establishing themselves as the official choice for right-wing voters, the Conservatives could see a change of leadership as a vital tool to challenge Nigel Farage and co.