Kemi Badenoch has promised to win back voters after winning the Tory leadership race.

The 44-year-old made history on Saturday as the first black woman to lead a major political party in the UK.

She defeated her opponent Robert Jenrick by 12,418 votes after a marathon contest to replace Rishi Sunak, who decided to step down as leader of the Conservatives after its defeat in July's general election.

In her victory speech, Badenoch promised to "renew" the party and told cheering supporters it was "time to get down to business."

Badenoch, who is the sixth Tory leader in less than nine years, now faces the task of uniting a fractured party and leading opposition to Sir Keir Starmer's Labour government.

Speaking after the announcement at the weekend, Ms Badenoch said the Conservatives needed to face up to hard truths if they wanted to win back support of voters.

“Our party is critical to the success of our country, but to be heard, we have to be honest,” she said.

“Honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we let standards slip.

"The time has come to tell the truth.”

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