On Saturday, Britain’s Conservative Party chose Kemi Badenoch as its new leader, aiming to recover after a devastating election loss that ended their 14-year hold on power.

Badenoch (pronounced BADE-enock) becomes the first Black woman to lead a major British political party, defeating rival lawmaker Robert Jenrick in a vote involving nearly 100,000 members of the right-leaning Conservatives, also known as the Tories.

In the online and postal ballot, Badenoch received 53,806 votes compared to Jenrick’s 41,388.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Badenoch in a post on X, saying, “The first Black leader of a Westminster party is a proud moment for our country. I look forward to working with you and your party in the interests of the British people.”

However, many congratulatory messages included critical notes. Labour Party Chair Ellie Reeves remarked, “Kemi was part of the chaos of the last 14 years.”

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey acknowledged the historic nature of her win on X but added, “Voters across the country believe her party is too divided, out-of-touch and unable to accept Conservative failures over the past years.”

“The election of Kemi Badenoch as leader has finalized the Tories’ lurch to the far right,” Scottish National Party’s deputy leader, Keith Brown, stated.

Tony Travers, a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, told NBC News that Badenoch is positioned on the right edge of her center-right party and is viewed by party members as someone who speaks “common sense,” likely being the candidate Labour least wanted to see win.

“As the first Black leader of a major political party, she’s intriguingly positioned on issues related to race,” Travers noted. He added that she is “way less enthusiastic about progressive interpretations of the position of people of color in society than many white people on the progressive left, which is going to be complicated for Labour to deal with.”