After three defections in ten days, what exactly can Kemi Badenoch do to get back on the front foot? This morning, we got our answer. The Tory leader sought to use her big press conference to laugh off the loss of Messers Jenrick, Rosindell and Braverman, in a 20-minute speech which blended levity with gravity. With her back against the wall, Badenoch tried to come out fighting and address the defections head-on. She dismissed those quitting and sought to pivot the conversation to more favourable terrain. In the circumstances, it was probably her only strategy – and she played it as well as she could.

The question of how to best stop Nigel Farage is one that has bedevilled Tory strategists for years. Both David Cameron and Boris Johnson were able to ignore him in 2015 and 2019, effectively........

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