Kemi Badenoch MP, leader of the opposition

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Feb 22, 2026

Kemi Badenoch, Conservative MP and Leader of the Opposition, former cabinet minister who grew up between Lagos and London. She discusses blunt, honest leadership and party unity. She recalls leaving Nigeria for school, her tech career, and political beginnings. Music and family memories weave through her story.

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ANECDOTE

From Wimbledon Birth To Lagos Upbringing

Badenoch describes being born in Wimbledon then raised in an affluent Lagos suburb during an oil boom.
Her family's wealth later declined due to military coups and bad economic policy.

ANECDOTE

Teenage Move To London And McDonald's Job

At 16 she moved alone to London for A-levels and supported herself working at McDonald's while staying with a family friend.
She coped with homesickness through letter-writing and excitement about new opportunities.

ADVICE

Use Sunscreen's Advice As A Life Guide

Listen to Baz Luhrmann's Sunscreen as a primer: accept life's truths and focus on long-term perspective.
Badenoch says politicians should heed its counsel about patience and priorities.

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Kemi Badenoch is the Conservative MP for North West Essex and the Leader of the Opposition.

Since winning her seat in 2017, she has held cabinet positions as Minister of State for Equalities under Boris Johnson and Secretary of State for International Trade under Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. She became leader of the Conservative Party in 2024 after Rishi Sunak’s resignation and is the first black person to lead a political party in Britain.

Her Nigerian parents came to Britain for medical treatment and Kemi was born in a private hospital in Wimbledon in January 1980. Her parents returned with their newborn daughter, and she was brought up in Nigeria in an affluent suburb of Lagos.

After a series of military coups and economic downturns, her family, along with many other middle-class families in Nigeria saw their wealth decline and Kemi was sent to London to study for her A levels.

Instead of following her parents into medicine, she chose to pursue Computer Systems Engineering and went to Sussex University. A well-paid career in IT followed and she joined the Conservative Party aged twenty-five where she also met her husband, Hamish.

Her first attempt at becoming an MP was in 2010 in Dame Tessa Jowell’s former constituency of Dulwich and West Norwood constituency in London. She finished third behind the Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates.

In 2017, she was selected for the Saffron Walden seat and became an MP.

She lives in London with her husband and three children and divides her time between Westminster and her constituency of North West Essex.

DISC ONE: The Story of Tonight - Lin-Manuel Miranda, Okieriete Onaodowan, Daveed Diggs, Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton DISC TWO: Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson DISC THREE: Wonderful World - Sam Cooke DISC FOUR: Be Still - Aled Jones and English Session Orchestra DISC FIVE: Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - Baz Luhrmann DISC SIX: Love is All Around - Wet Wet Wet DISC SEVEN: Carry You Home – Alex Warren DISC EIGHT: Dear Theodosia - Leslie Odom Jr., Lin-Manuel Miranda BOOK CHOICE: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray LUXURY ITEM: The Marvel Movie Collection with a solar-powered DVD player CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson

Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

Desert Island Discs has cast many politicians away to the island over the years including Sir Keir Starmer, Nicola Sturgeon, Sir Vince Cable, Theresa May, Ed Miliband, Boris Johnson and Margaret Thatcher.