Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick: Key differences between Conservative leadership contenders

Badenoch is known for her direct approach and willingness to speak her mind.

At the Conservative Party conference, there was controversy over her suggestion that maternity pay had “gone too far”. She later said she had been “misrepresented”, but the criticism drowned out her campaign.

But Badenoch’s pugnacious approach to debate means she “has cut through to the public,” says supporter and conservative commentator Albie Amankona.

People see she is “fiery, opinionated, brave and competent,” without the need to be attention grabbing, he adds.

Her allies see hints of Margaret Thatcher in her take-no-prisoners style. Jenrick is also a Thatcher fan – one of his daughters has Thatcher for a middle name – but Badenoch’s supporters have accused him of being a “shapeshifter”.

Seen initially as an ally of David Cameron on the more “moderate” wing of the party when he became an MP in 2014, Jenrick has shifted to the right after quitting as immigration minster last year.

Those backing Jenrick insist his right-wing credentials are bona fide.

Jamie Mulhall, a Conservative councillor in Derby, called Jenrick a “conviction politician” whose views adapt when evidence changes.

Mulhall, who is part of Jenrick’s campaign team, said the former minister likes to “step back and has had a good long hard look at what happened” before coming up with the “clarity, vision and polices that appeal to the common-sense common-ground”.