The grace period is over – so what now for Kemi Badenoch, the ‘not Robert Jenrick’ Tory leader? | Henry Hill

Desperate to avoid another regicide, the party wanted to give Badenoch a fair crack. But a year in, that resolve is crumbling

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emi Badenoch has recently marked her first anniversary as leader, and much of the commentary (to the extent that the Tories manage to garner any commentary) has focused on one thing: the fact that she can now be formally challenged for the role.

The significance of this milestone should not, however, be overstated. Unlike the Labour party, the Conservatives do not really have an internal regime governed by rigid rules. The one-year grace period for a new leader is simply a rule adopted by the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, and they could dispose of it simply by changing their minds.

In truth, Badenoch’s leadership is in a sort of twilight zone. Whatever glow surrounded her early days as leader has long since faded, dimmed by the slide in the polls that began immediately upon the conclusion of last year’s leadership contest and extinguished completely by the rout at the local elections in May.