The colour red on blue is an arresting visual. It gives a sense of greater depth to an image, a phenomenon known as chromostereopsis. It also did the UK government’s business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, no harm at all on Monday when she spoke at the Tory conference in Manchester.
Badenoch, the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, caught the eye wearing bright red as she strode on to the main stage in the darkened delegates’ hall. Behind her, the light from an enormous digital screen bathed the room in a blue hue. The depth of her image burnished, she set about deepening her relationship with the Tory grassroots who will choose the party’s next leader.
One of the most striking things about the four-day conference, which ends on Wednesday with a speech from prime minister Rishi Sunak, is the blatant jostling of contenders to replace him as leader, should the Tories take a severe beating in next year’s election. Most are women from ethnic minorities. The home secretary, Suella Braverman, and the former occupant of that role, Priti Patel, are both said to fancy their chances. Badenoch, however, is seen by many in Manchester this week as the frontrunner.
Her speech on the main stage immediately followed chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt. His address got a muted reaction from delegates, devoid as it was of ideological chunks for them to feast upon. There was much more of a crackle in the room when Badenoch appeared.
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She flicked at culture war issues such as the gender and trans debate, declaring that she “knows what a woman is”. She didn’t dwell on the point, though. She also declared Britain the “best country in the world to be black” and criticised those who want to “re-racialise society”.
These declarations drew warm applause from the floor. What was noticeable about Badenoch’s speech was not its stridency, however, but rather its restraint.
It could easily appear disloyal to be seen looking beyond Sunak as leader before he has had a chance to lead his troops into battle against Labour. Badenoch seemed careful to praise the prime minister on several occasions. She avoided being bellicose and struck an upbeat tone throughout, leaving the stage – again, red on blazing blue – with her image and her credentials shining brightly.
Braverman has taken a different tack recently with her increasingly combative rhetoric over immigration. It was evident in both her conference speech on Tuesday and a separate address last week in Washington, in which she suggested Britain should leave the European Court of Human Rights to prevent it from stymieing its hardline immigration policies.
Braverman, born in London of Kenyan and Indian descent, has declared that “multiculturalism has failed” and is much more open than Badenoch in her courting of the Tory grassroots and the party’s right wing. She is said, however, to lack supporters among the parliamentary party, where she is seen as a provocateur who occasionally undermines Sunak.
Patel, who was close to Boris Johnson, accused Braverman during the conference of trying “to get attention” with her speeches on immigration. Yet, she soaked up plenty of attention herself when she addressed a gathering of the party’s economic right wingers that was organised by former prime minister Liz Truss. Patel has also been prominent at several fringe events, as she jockeys to raise her profile. She was seen at one event on Monday night dancing with Brexiteer Nigel Farage.
Penny Mordaunt, who gained fame by holding a ceremonial sword during the May coronation of King Charles, is another prominent Tory woman linked to a leadership bid should Sunak be forced to step down. She is somewhat hampered in Manchester by her lack of a cabinet role, which means she cannot make a set piece speech in the main hall. She also faces an additional challenge should she run for leader: Labour believes it can unseat her in Portsmouth.
Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, and even Brandon Lewis, the former Northern Ireland secretary, are also considered outside bets to follow Sunak as party leader.
The jostling behind him has led to a sense that the premier’s authority has been undermined throughout the conference at Manchester. He is seen to have dithered in recent days over the expected cancellation of a high speed rail link to the northern city.
There is also unease in some Tory quarters about his pivot away from green policies, which may have given him a small fillip in polls but could cause him political messaging problems in the long run.
He has a chance, perhaps his final one before the election, to buttress his relationship with the Tory grassroots through his conference speech on Wednesday. Should he falter, there is no shortage of candidates vying to fill the breach.