"It's common knowledge that Kemi Badenoch is not an early morning person. Or an any time of morning person. Look at her in the wrong way and you're likely to catch an earful. So it must have taken a lot of persuading from Conservative central office to get her out and about at 9am. But needs must. All week it has been Reform setting the news agenda, with three press conferences in as many days, and the Tories have barely had a look in. You could almost have forgotten that, for the time being, at any rate, the Conservatives are still the official opposition. Their relevance diminishes by the day."
"The invitation sent out on Wednesday had said access would be strictly limited and that only one journalist per outlet would be accredited. So you would have imagined the venue to be the usual small room in the bowels of a right-of-centre thinktank. Imagine the surprise then, to find the location was outdoors on the South Bank in London. A place where literally anyone could and did turn up. It was almost as if they didn't actually want anyone to come."
"This was more the kind of event a party puts on in the fourth week of an election campaign when it already knows it is going to lose badly. Political reporters weren't the only ones taken aback to find themselves gathered outdoors on a chilly late October morning. Passersby were equally surprised to find a small group of extras for CCHQ central casting waving banners that read, If She Puts Up Tax, Give Reeves The Axe."
"Who is that? asked several people, as a middle-aged man moved to the centre of the 30-strong rent-a-crowd and began talking into a microphone. Poor Mel Stride. Then again, he probably gets the same reaction at family gatherings. It's a rare talent to be that forgettable. Do you want me to be chancellor? he began. Er not even his friends want that. He had been clearly hoping that some of the staffers might sound at least vaguely enthusiastic. A token whoop at least. But nothing until one voice whispered: Yes'."
Kemi Badenoch resisted an early 9am appearance, suggesting reluctance to attend morning events. Reform dominated the week with multiple press conferences, sidelining the Conservatives and eroding their relevance. An invitation promised strict accreditation but the event took place outdoors on the South Bank, allowing passersby to observe. A small staged crowd waved banners urging action against Reeves over tax. Mel Stride sought attention as a potential chancellor but met indifference and only a single whispered affirmative, underscoring low enthusiasm and a performative atmosphere rather than mobilised support.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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