Could there be a Tory leadership upset?

Conservative party conference is underway. The conference centre in Birmingham is covered in photos of the four remaining leadership hopefuls and each campaign team is handing out stash – including Tugend-Tats (temporary tattoos). Already there are signs of friction. I understand some of the candidates were surprised on check-in at the conference hotel to discover that they had been put on the same corridor as their rivals. Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat and Robert Jenrick were all put in rooms along from one another. ‘The walls are paper thin so it’s a nightmare for speech prep,’ says one campaign member. Since then, I hear some of the candidates have been moved to more discreet locations.

It’s just as well – as one day into conference, tensions are rising between the four camps. The quad kicked off the conference with an intensive media round – with Kemi Badenoch sparking a row over her comments in relation to a question on maternity pay.