Helen Whately MP has shut down claims Kemi Badenoch's victory was impacted by being a black woman.
Speaking to GB News she said: "Kemi, she doesn't like doing identity politics. It's not about the fact that she's a woman or about the colour of her skin.
"I backed her because of how she goes about politics, because of her values, because of the way she communicates things, because she's straight with us and she thinks hard about the problems we face. That's what matters."
She added: "Labour's had much greater challenges with that. Of course, now they do have a female Chancellor.
"They've not even managed to have a female party leader yet. So maybe they can look at us and follow our example."
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