Kemi Badenoch has vowed to win back voters who defected from the Conservatives after winning a historic victory in the party’s top race.

The 44-year-old is the first black woman to lead a major political party in the UK.

She defeated her far-right colleague Robert Jenrick, 42, with 12,418 votes after a marathon contest to succeed Rishi Sunak that led the party to its worst defeat in its history 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, the sixth Tory leader in less than nine years, now faces the task of uniting a fractured party and leading the opposition to Sir Keir Starmer’s Labor government.

Saffron MP Walden said the Conservatives needed to “bring back” voters who had let them down, adding: “Our party is crucial to the success of our country.”

“But to be heard, we have to be honest.”

The party must admit that it has “made mistakes” and “neglected standards” in the last 14 years of government, she said.

Badenoch chose not to set out detailed policies during her election campaign, instead focusing on returning the Conservatives to “first principles”.

All eyes will now turn to who she appoints to her top team as she sets out the future shape of the party in the coming days.

She praised Jenrick despite a sometimes painful campaign and hinted he may be offered a senior job, telling him: “You will play a key role in our party in the years to come”.

Badenoch, who became an MP in 2017 after a career in banking and IT, said she would offer jobs to all Tories who made leadership bids in July.

But Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly, who came third in the race, has ruled himself out.

The BBC understands that Badenoch plans to announce her shadow cabinet by Wednesday, ahead of the crucial budget vote and her first clash with Sir Keir at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Jenrick did not speak to reporters after the result was announced, but continued social media urged his supporters to “unite behind Kemi and take up the fight against this disastrous Labor government”.

He also thanked “everyone who has supported my vision of a Conservative party rooted in the common ground of British politics”.

Badenoch received 53,806 votes to Jenrick’s 41,388 – making it the closest Tory leadership race in recent memory.

Bob Blackman, who oversaw the 1922 Conservative committee chairman election, announced that the party’s membership had shrunk to 132,000 – its lowest level on record and a decline of 40,000 members since members last voted in 2022 .

Badenoch was congratulated by several of her predecessors, including Sunak, who posted on social media: “I know she will be an outstanding leader of our great party.”

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised Badenoch’s “courage and clarity” and said she “gives the Conservative Party much-needed momentum”.

In one Social media postPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “The first black leader of a Westminster party is a proud moment for our country.”

He added: “I look forward to working with you and your party in the interests of the British people.”

But Labor leader Ellie Reeves said the Conservative leadership campaign showed the party had “learned nothing since the British people soundly rejected it in July”.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey also congratulated Badenoch, saying: “The first black leader of a major political party in the UK is a historic moment for the country.”

But Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice called Badenoch “another in a long line of Tory politicians who say one thing and do another”.

In a statement he said: “Kemi Badenoch has been at the center of a government that has failed Britain.”

During the 14-week campaign, the debate was dominated by immigration, the economy and how the Conservatives can restore voter confidence.

The party was reduced to a record low of 121 seats in the House of Commons in the general election with less than 24% of the vote.

It lost voters across the board to Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK, and thousands of Conservative voters also chose to stay at home in the July 4 election.

Dame Priti Patel, Mel Stride and Tom Stimmehat spent the summer campaigning alongside Jenrick, Badenoch and Cleverly after putting their names forward in the nominations at the end of July.

Dame Priti and Stride were the first two candidates eliminated in September’s Tory MP election, leaving just four remaining when the party gathered in Birmingham for its autumn conference at the end of the month.

Cleverly appeared to be in the lead after the conference and was in the lead in the MP’s third round of voting. But in the last MP vote he slipped to 37 votes, behind Badenoch’s 42 and Jenrick’s 41.

The final two votes then saw a member vote that was closer than many expected, with Badenoch long considered the favorite among the party’s grassroots.