UK's Tory Party elects first black leader

LONDON — Kemi Badenoch was elected the new Conservative Party leader of the United Kingdom on Saturday, becoming the first black woman to lead a major political party in the UK.

Badenoch, former secretary of state for business and trade, won 57 percent of the votes, beating Robert Jenrick, former minister of state for immigration, in the final stage of a monthslong contest that saw a field of six whittled down to two.

The new leader's daunting challenges are to restore the party's reputation after years of division, scandal and economic tumult, hammer Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer's policies on key issues, including the economy and immigration, and return the Conservatives to power at the next election, due by 2029.