Kemi Badenoch's fight against 'ineffective' diversity schemes reveals an uncomfortable truth for Sunak - analysis by Millie Cooke
'It is all a distraction!' Kemi Badenoch refuses to rule out voting …
There has long been speculation about Kemi Badenoch's ambition to be prime minister.
But as rumours in Westminster swirl over a supposed plot from Tory MPs on the right of the party said to be looking to oust the Prime Minister, Badenoch has managed to keep her nose clean.
Instead, the briefing centred around Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, with MPs claiming she was being lined up to take over as a "caretaker prime minister".
Mordaunt, who failed to deny the allegations, was thrust into the limelight this week for what may or may not have been manoevres of her own making.
There has long been speculation about Kemi Badenoch's ambition to be prime minister
PA
Badenoch, who came out in full support of the Prime Minister and called for an end to speculation about “existential issues” in the Tory Party, instead appeared to be diligently working on her own brief.
Yesterday, the Business Secretary came out all guns blazing against Britain's attempted diversity drive, saying it has been "counterproductive" and "ineffective". She warned that inclusion policies must not come at the expense of white men.
A report, commissioned by Badenoch herself, claimed that the majority of spending on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) was a waste of money. It urges bosses to take into account disadvantages faced by the white working classes when modelling EDI schemes, warning against over-emphasising "visible" quotas.
Badenoch, who also sits as Minister for Women and Equalities, slammed "snake oil" diversity schemes, demanding that equality strategies continue to uphold "fairness and meritocracy". She also attacked "performative gestures such as compulsory pronouns and rainbow lanyards".
The latest campaign is an easy win for Badenoch. It taps into a bubbling feeling of anger at supposed "woke" policies that has been growing in recent years.
But it's also a win for Kemi when it comes to internal Tory party politics. Many people on the right of the party believe it is no longer conservative enough - eyeing high levels of taxation and a failure to stop spiralling migration.
Just this morning, ex-Tory mayoral candidate Dan Barker announced his decision to defect to Reform UK - describing it as the "new home of conservatism".
Kemi's decision to go all guns blazing on workplace diversity schemes, an issue which sits clearly inside the parameters of her brief, is a handy way of reminding voters she sits on the right of the party, without risking accusations of treachery.
The last thing that Tory frontbenchers want right now is to show their hands. If Rishi is going to be toppled, nobody wants to be indicted as the one who pushed him.
If Badenoch were to be on manoeuvres, this is certainly a sensible way of going about it.