In today’s newsletter: Badenoch has tried to bring a rallying spirit back at conservative conference – but their prospects look far from fun
Good morning. Last week, Kemi Badenoch made a bold promise to those attending Tory conference: “We can put the party in Conservative party.” Perhaps some veterans of Downing Street during the pandemic felt a thrilling pang of nostalgia. But as the conference got under way in Manchester yesterday, there weren’t a lot of champagne flutes being clinked.
Badenoch herself made the first of two appearances of the week, saying that she would take Britain out of the European convention on human rights (ECHR), and telling members that increasing deportations might require the party to go even further: “If there are other treaties and laws we need to revise or revisit, then we will do so.” But as that firmly rightwing policy implies, she is much too worried about the existential threat posed by Reform to be having any fun. And from here, the path back to a competitive position in the polls appears so treacherous as to be almost impassable.
Israel-Gaza war | Negotiators arrived in Cairo before talks on Monday expected to focus on the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and a broader end to the war, as Israel continued strikes on the Palestinian territory, killing 63 people in 24 hours.
Protest | Civil liberty groups have expressed concerns at plans outlined by the home secretary to hand police greater powers to restrict protests as organisers of mass demonstrations against the banning of Palestine Action pledged a “major escalation” of their campaign.
China | Chinese officials threatened retaliation should the UK government target parts of its security apparatus under foreign influence rules soon after the Guardian reported it was under consideration.
Syria | The battle-ravaged country is holding its first parliamentary elections since the fall of its longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, in a tentative step towards democratic polls that have been criticised as biased in favour of interim leaders.
Utilities | Millions of households in England face the prospect of even bigger water bill increases than originally expected, as the competition regulator prepares to give a preliminary verdict on industry spending plans as soon as this week.
The most likely outcome – just about – remains that things carry on as now, with the Tories badly wounded but not quite dead, and splitting the vote on the right … But the possibility that the Conservatives will disintegrate has increased substantially since January because the Tories are so far behind Reform, and have seen their institutional structures eroded to the point where they could be toppled very quickly.”
