The only possible explanation for the speech Kemi Badenoch delivered today is that she suffers from an acute case of political split personality disorder.

On the one hand, we have an old-fashioned fiscal conservative who wants the country to live within its means. On the other, we have a half-drunk festival organiser, firing-off multiple rounds of electoral confetti – countless tax cuts and spending commitments, paid for by illusionary savings.

The first version of Kemi Badenoch was presumably appalled by the things the second version of Kemi Badenoch was proposing, but she seemed blissfully unaware that this other version of her personality was operating out there on the conference stage. Perhaps somewhere deep inside she was mortified by the words that were coming out her mouth. Or perhaps she simply blacked out whenever the other version spoke, only to awaken blissfully unaware of what she’d just promised.

The Tory leader told her party conference that the “fundamental problem” we have as a country is that we are “running out of money”. This is at the core of our national malaise. “Almost every other problem,” she said, “stems from this.” The solution was fiscal rectitude – a concerted effort to balance the national books, pay down the deficit and stimulate growth. She criticised Andy Burnham for “making a promise he cannot deliver with sums which do not add up”. Under a Conservative government, the country would start “living within our means”.

The argument is rather uninspiring. Badenoch spent a great deal of........

© iNews