Yesterday (9 October) carried the shock announcement that both former business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick will be making their way to the final round of the Conservative leadership election, after former home secretary James Cleverly unexpectedly fell short.
Both Jenrick and Badenoch will now take their case directly to the Conservative membership for who will lead the party in opposition over the coming years, with a final result expected 2 November.
With the Conservative leadership down to the final two, the Daily Update looks at what both have done and said on international trade.
Trade deals
As a former trade minister, Badenoch has spoken frequently on the importance of free trade agreements.
Taking over from then-prime minister Liz Truss before serving in the same position under Rishi Sunak, she held the trade brief for just under two years.
During her time as trade chief, she pivoted towards an approach that prioritised quality over quantity, saying:
“Trade deals are like the motorway. It is fantastic when you get them built. But if cars aren’t going back and forth, then you might as well not have built them. The going back and forth are the exports and investments.”
She presided over the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), while making it clear that visas would be “off the table” when it came to the UK-India trade deal.
Jenrick’s portfolio has not touched trade as much as that of his competitor. He served as housing and local government secretary for two years, before serving as a junior minister in health and then immigration, under Truss and Sunak respectively.
The India trade negotiations were slowed over the issue of immigration, as New Delhi was keen to acquire easier visa access to the UK for students and professionals.
However, when still at the Home Office, Jenrick said that any trade agreement “must be consistent with the UK’s points-based immigration system and the government’s commitment to bringing down net migration to sustainable levels”.
According to TheyWorkFor You, in 2021 he voted for trade agreements to be consistent with NHS standards, labour rights and the protection of animal, plant and human health, while in 2020 he voted against requirements for food imports to meet or exceed the UK’s own standards.
Brexit
Badenoch was an early backer of the Brexit campaign and campaigned for the UK to leave the EU.
She blasted former PM David Cameron for failing to prepare for Brexit in a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in April, calling it a “dereliction of duty”.
“One of the most disappointing things was becoming an MP a year later and finding out there had been no plans made about how this was going to happen.
“I think that was the real dereliction of duty.”
As trade minister, she was also responsible for slowing down the so-called ‘Brexit bonfire’ of retained EU legislation that still applied in the UK.
The original law would have required the review of around 4,000 laws by 31 December 2023, but Badenoch scaled back the bill in the face of potential regulatory uncertainty.
In response to criticism from Brexiters, she said “we are not arsonists” and that “what we want to do is get rid of laws we don’t want and there's a process for that”.
Jenrick initially backed remain in the referendum but has since backed the UK's departure from the EU.
After the Conservative’s loss in July 2024, he identified Brexit as one of the most important achievements of the 14 years of Tory governments, alongside education reform and support for Ukraine.
He has also made leaving the European Convention on Human Rights an important part of his campaign, something like is likely to raise eyebrows in Brussels if he ultimately brings the Conservatives back into Dowing Street.
China, US and Russia
Both candidates have been critical of Russia, emphasising the UK’s continued commitment to supporting Ukraine and hitting Russia with sanctions.
On the topic of China, prior to and during the leadership contest, Jenrick has criticised China and pushed for a stronger stance against Beijing.
“It’s blindingly obvious China is a threat to the UK,” he said in August, criticising China’s alleged hacking and theft of intellectual property. He called for the UK to name China as a strategic foe.
By contrast, Badenoch has portrayed herself as more pragmatic when in government.
When still a minister, she told Sky News that China should not be seen as a “foe” or “threat”, instead as a “challenge”.
However, during the leadership campaign, she said that Beijing was using the “net zero agenda as a cover to dominate global industry”.
She has also been critical of US president Joe Biden, saying that he was partly responsible for the UK government’s inability to meet a Conservative manifesto pledge that promised trade deals with countries accounting for 80% of UK trade by the end of 2022.
Exports and industry
During his time as a junior minister in the Treasury, Jenrick was keen to boost UK exports. He visited Moray to promote the export of Scottish whisky and aerospace goods.
He also served as a Midlands Engine Champion under Johnson. As a native Midlander, and MP for the Nottinghamshire-based seat of Newark, he said that the levelling-up of the region was “vital”.
In a speech to the right-wing Legatum Institute as part of a “free market roadshow”, he said:
“It worries me because I believe we have to reindustrialise as a country. We’ve got to ensure that we have those jobs and investment here in the country. We are far too economically unequal as a country.”
“[We are] far too much focused here in London and the South East. And if you believe in the mission that was once known as levelling up, then you’ve got to have an industrial base in all parts of the UK.”
As the minister most responsible for exports over the last two years, Badenoch spent a lot of her time talking up the UK’s trading prospects.
Under her watch, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) placed more emphasis on the UK’s status as a “services superpower”. Negotiations with Switzerland, Israel and Turkey were launched and placed emphasis on services.
She also criticised those who she viewed as more sceptical of the UK’s place as a trading nation post-Brexit, pointing to “soaring” goods exports numbers.
Badenoch, a trained lawyer and engineer, also launched the Advanced Manufacturing Plan while heading DBT, with more funding and support earmarked for the automotive sector and other advanced sectors.
She also stated that the US pivot to ‘Bidenomics’ – involving heavy government investment in key sectors – was not a route that the UK would be going down under her watch, saying it was “not right for the UK”.
