SARAH VINE: The unscripted moment Kemi proved to me that she really IS a woman of substance... and the only politician worthy of No 10

One of my favourite Kemi Badenoch moments is from May this year, when during a walkabout in Essex she was heckled by a protester who accused her of ‘pandering to the Right’ for defending British Jews against anti-Semitism.Quick as a flash, she turned on her heel, faced them down, and said: ‘No: I am the Right.’ It was an extraordinary exchange, because it showed in one fleeting, unscripted moment, exactly why Badenoch has gone from being the last throw of the dice for a disillusioned and discredited Conservative Party to being the best and only hope for an effective opposition.It showed that she is a leader who knows her mind and is not afraid to speak it; that she will make the arguments, however difficult or unfashionable; that she’s not scared to stand up to a mob. It showed strength, resilience, determination and courage – all qualities essential in a good leader and sorely lacking in many of today’s politicians.From the moment she took over – much to the fury and chagrin of her opponent Robert Jenrick’s supporters, not least his wife, whose face when the result was announced was a picture – people were telling her how to do her job.This is something most women in senior roles are used to – but Badenoch really had it from all sides, with commentators left, right and centre basically urging her to give up before she had even started and do a deal with Reform.But that was never Badenoch’s plan. She never wanted to game the system to get the Conservatives back into power. That, in her view, would have been not only deeply dishonest towards the electorate, it would have also made her a hostage to someone else’s fortunes. No; if she was going to succeed, she was going to do so on her own terms, no one else’s.As our exclusive poll showing the Conservatives an astonishing eight points ahead of Reform proves, her approach is finally starting to pay off. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, and the Tories are far from out of the woods yet. But the direction of travel is positive, and if she can build on her success, there is every chance she could mount a serious challenge to Labour at the next election (whenever that may be). A new poll has put the Conservatives eight points ahead of ReformOne thing is certain: at every turn, she has proved her critics wrong. And she has done so not by listening to focus groups or vested interests (or even the likes of well-intentioned supporters, such as yours truly), but by trusting her gut. She doesn’t need to consult others. She knows exactly what she thinks about all major issues and really doesn’t care if people disagree. On self-ID, on welfare, on defence, on taxation, on Net Zero, on reparations for slavery, on sovereignty and borders, on immigration, on the importance of the family: her philosophy is clear and – crucially – informed by her deeply conservative core.The same is true of her approach to her opponents. While everyone was urging her to ‘unite the Right’ and do a deal with Nigel Farage, she stubbornly refused to even entertain the thought.Her ambition, she told everyone, was to unite the country: achieve that, and everything else would follow. She understood just how badly voters felt let down by the Conservatives and knew that the priority was to earn back that trust, not hitch a ride on someone else’s bandwagon.Ultimately, her belief is that Britain deserves better than Reform and better than this Labour government – but also better than the disaster of the last Conservative administration. That’s why to begin with, her focus was on changing the toxic culture within the party, a culture that had caused it to fail voters so catastrophically.Inevitably, this took time. The Tories have been around for 200 years; there was a lot of bad wiring under the bonnet. Whatever else she had to do, Badenoch had to start there. But there were many who assumed that just because she was fixing the engine, she had given up the race.There were many who were impatient with this strategy, who felt that she was moving too slowly. They accused her of laziness and tried very hard to undermine her leadership.When Jenrick and other high-profile figures such as Danny Kruger flounced off to Reform with great fanfare, it was seen by many as a blow to her authority. In private, she was delighted to be shot of them, and all the headaches they had been causing her. That was always the plan: weed out the dissenters and the freelancers, the megalomaniacs and narcissists – and create a united team capable of working together for the greater good of the party and, ultimately, the country.That’s not to say it was all plain sailing – but that is where her personality comes into play. Badenoch is the sort of person who really does not give up without a fight. And that comes from a deeply personal place: she has had to deal with a lot of adversity in her life, especially in her early years. In many ways, that has defined her.I asked her about this once, and she said, very simply: ‘I’ve learnt the importance of resilience, or not allowing bad times to get into your head or criticism to get under your skin – and I have a pretty thick skin anyway.’It’s this self-assured demeanour that many mistake for arrogance, or in some cases aggression. That, combined with her quick-wittedness and sharp tongue, makes her a formidable opponent, as we have seen time and again at the despatch box. The slightest chink in an opponent’s armour, and she strikes with deadly precision.But she is more than just a charismatic leader (and an attractive one too, as many have pointed out), and this is why voters are instinctively warming to her. So many politicians look and sound impressive but ultimately have no substance; others have substance but lack the ability to inspire. Andy Burnham is a great example of the former; Keir Starmer the latter.To succeed at prime ministerial level, to really bring about change, requires both. That is what so many of our leaders in recent years have been lacking; and that, ultimately, is what Badenoch has. Whether she can get the Conservatives across the line is still up for debate. But if anyone can, she can.READ MORE: Kemi Badenoch storms to an eight-point poll lead over Nigel Farage as voters back her tax-cutting policies