Graceless Kemi concedes not a croak of kindness for newly liberated Keir | John Crace

Politics The Guardian By John Crace 24 Jun 2026 15:41 1 min read

It is customary to say something complimentary about a departing PM but the Tory leader couldn’t meet the moment You learn a lot about a person at a time like this. Not so much about the prime minister, who has resigned. Keir Starmer has already revealed how he deals with a personal loss. But about the leader of the opposition. Here was a chance for Kemi Badenoch to show her human side. To give the world a rare sighting of her empathy gene. But Kemi just can’t go there. She can’t read a room. Sh

It is customary to say something complimentary about a departing PM but the Tory leader couldn’t meet the moment

You learn a lot about a person at a time like this. Not so much about the prime minister, who has resigned. Keir Starmer has already revealed how he deals with a personal loss. But about the leader of the opposition. Here was a chance for Kemi Badenoch to show her human side. To give the world a rare sighting of her empathy gene. But Kemi just can’t go there. She can’t read a room. She has only one mode. All-out attack.

Other people’s moments of weakness are just material for her to use against them. Even now, she probably thinks she played a blinder at prime minister’s questions. A chance taken to humiliate Keir when he’s down. She has no idea how graceless she is. How charmless.

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