Ms Kemi Badenoch is rude. That's not my description. I have never spoken to the new leader of the UK Conservative party. It is a characterisation attributed to both her detractors and supporters.
On a television show before the party's leadership election, former Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns said Ms Badenoch "came across as rude, like a school ma'am disciplining school children" and urged her to have "more respect".
Then, in a podcast interview, BBC political editor Chris Mason told Ms Badenoch he had spoken to a few Tory colleagues, including supportive MPs, who complained of her tendency to fall out with people.
She replied: "I don't think I'm being rude; I just think I'm saying something that I wouldn't mind hearing back... I have to be mindful that I have a higher tolerance for things than others."
The upside, she said, was it meant she was better equipped to cope with "stress".
Denne historien er fra November 18, 2024-utgaven av The Straits Times.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 18, 2024-utgaven av The Straits Times.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Japan mayor regrets South Korea's absence from war memorial event
A Japanese mayor said it is \"extremely regrettable\" that South Korea pulled out of a memorial ceremony on Nov 24 to honour wartime forced labour victims, local media reported.
China's local govts step up public safety measures after attacks
The local authorities in China are stepping up safety management and police patrols following several high-profile mass killings, as the central government calls for enhanced public security, media reports said on Nov 24.
Evacuation orders set off new wave of displacement in Gaza City
Israeli military's move blamed on militants firing rockets from heavily built-up suburb
S. Korea seeks better work-life balance to ease falling birth rate
Tax incentives and subsidies for SMEs and doubling of paternal leave among measures
Manila to investigate V-P's alleged assassination threat against Marcos
The Philippines' security council will verify an alleged assassination threat by Vice-President Sara Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a top official said on Nov 24, describing it as a \"matter of national security\".
Three days of sectarian clashes leave 82 dead in Pakistan
Three days of bitter sectarian gunfights in north-western Pakistan have killed at least 82 people and wounded 156 more, a local official said on Nov 24.
Johor aims to ride medical tourism wave
It hopes to capitalise on location, build up facilities to compete with Melaka, Penang
Fire rips through Manila slum area housing thousands
Raging orange flames and thick black smoke billowed into the sky on Nov 24 as a huge fire ripped through hundreds of houses in a closely built slum area of the Philippine capital Manila.
More Indian states and firms offer menstrual leave
Issue gains traction amid efforts to woo female voters and get more women to join workforce
SM Lee in China to mark 30 years of Suzhou Industrial Park
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong is visiting China from Nov 24 to 29 and he will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), a project he helped to steer at its beginning.
