Badenoch claims Tory conference is ‘teeming’ despite empty seats

Kemi Badenoch has claimed her conference is “teeming” with activists despite scores of empty seats in the main hall and a slew of high-profile no-shows.

The Tory leader insisted the Conservatives are having “a very good conference” as Reform UK unveiled a steady flow of councillors defecting from the party.

Ms Badenoch told the BBC that party members had been “thrilled” with the policies put forward at the annual gathering in Manchester, including leaving the European Convention on Human Rights and slashing £47 billion in public spending.

And she denied claims that the conference lacked the energy and attendance figures of previous years, saying she had been singing Sweet Caroline with “really excited” young Conservatives late on Monday.

But a slew of high-profile Tories have shunned the conference, with no-shows from former PM Liz Truss and ex-cabinet ministers Suella Braverman and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, who attended Reform’s gathering in Birmingham last month.

And Reform sought to derail the Conservatives’ day by announcing at least 13 Tory councillors who have defected to Nigel Farage’s party.

Ms Badenoch said: “I think that we’ve been having a very good conference. It was a tough defeat that we had at the last election but we are showing people the direction that I’m taking the party.”

This year’s conference has been a ghost town compared to previous years, with punters being quickly served at the hotel bars and none of the usual queues at food stalls. There are far fewer stands in the exhibition centre and the main conference hall is often half empty for speeches by shadow cabinet ministers.

Ms Badenoch insisted this was not a problem, saying: “A lot of the people who came just because we were in government, the corporate lobbyists, yes, they’re not there, but our members are here.

“This is one of the first conferences I’ve been to where it has really felt like the members owned it, and I’m really proud of that.”

But the conference has been overshadowed by both questions about her leadership and the spectre of Reform UK, which continues to enjoy a significant lead in the polls.

As Ms Badenoch began a round of media interviews on Tuesday morning, Mr Farage’s party timed its stream of defection announcements to take the spotlight off her.

It follows a call from Conservative frontbencher Andrew Rosindell for an electoral pact with Reform.

And a YouGov poll published on Monday suggested that half of Tory members thought Ms Badenoch was the wrong person to lead the party into the next general election.

But speaking to Times Radio, she insisted she was the right person for the job.

She said: “We need to turn our country around, and we’re the only party that can deliver that stronger economy and stronger borders that this conference is about.

“If I thought someone else could do it, then I’d be taking a step back. I think that I’m the right person and I’m the best person.”

She again ruled out an alliance with Reform, saying there is “no deal to be done”, and brushed off the council defections, telling ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “It’s going to be a long journey back from a historic defeat and on very long, difficult journeys you will lose some people on the way.”

Ms Badenoch said: “Just last year, we had MPs jumping to Labour because Labour was doing well in the polls. They’re not doing so well now.

“There are some people who will leave because all they want to do is win elections. They don’t know what they’re winning the elections for.”

Ms Badenoch acknowledged that her plan to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) would not be straightforward.

“The difference between Conservatives and a party like Reform is that we recognise there will be difficulties,” she told BBC’s Today.

“We’re not going to pretend that this is all going to be easy and it’ll get done in an afternoon, and we move on with our lives. We are being honest.”

She accepted that leaving the ECHR could jeopardise the post-Brexit trade deal with the EU but said it did not necessarily mean the agreement would be scrapped.

She said the Trade and Co-operation Agreement could be terminated at any time already, something which could happen “irrespective of leaving the ECHR”.

“We do not need to be in the ECHR for that agreement to continue. It’s just one extra ground which they could use if they chose to do so,” she said.

Later on Tuesday, the conference is expected to hear from shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick – Ms Badenoch’s opponent in last year’s leadership contest and, YouGov’s poll suggested, party members’ top pick to replace her.

He will call for significant reforms to judicial appointments, claiming he has “uncovered a hidden network of activist judges with links to open border campaigns” and arguing a “deep rot has infected parts of our judiciary”.

Hundreds still trapped on Mount Everest as rescuers battle heavy snow

At least one hiker died as rescuers raced against time to evacuate more than 200 others stranded at Mount Everest’s eastern face after being trapped by a heavy snowstorm during China‘s most popular holiday weekend.

Some 350 others have been rescued and escorted to the small town of Qudang, located about 48km from the base camp on Everest’s Tibetan side, the Chinese authorities who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region said.

Hundreds of hikers were trapped at an elevation of more than 4,900m after the region was hit by heavy snowfall on Friday and Saturday. Mount Everest stands about 8,850m tall.

More than 200 remaining trekkers are being evacuated, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Tuesday. The evacuation began on Monday and should be completed by Tuesday, said the source, who asked to remain unidentified.

Rescuers, including Chinese officials and villagers, have been battling deep snow and limited visibility to save the stranded trekkers. A video shot by a villager showed a long line of people with horses and oxen moving up a winding path in the snow.

A young hiker, nicknamed FeiFei, said she was on a multi-day trek with three friends and a local guide in the Karma Valley when heavy snow buried their camp on Saturday night. “We had to constantly clear the snow from the tents, but I collapsed from exhaustion and my tent got buried,” she told AFP news agency after being brought to safety on Monday.

She added that after two days of walking, during which “firefighters cleared the path using yaks and horses to clear the snow”, the group returned to the rescue centre. On her way down, FeiFei saw dozens of hikers along the way, weakened by hunger or altitude.

However, she noted that none appeared to be in critical condition.

A 46-year-old South Korean national died while ascending Merak Peak in the eastern side of Nepal, about 31km south of Mount Everest, according to reports.

The trekker’s body was retrieved by a rescue helicopter, while the sherpa, who was climbing with the Korean national, was rescued from an elevation of 5,800m, said Tul Singh Gurung, president of the Nepal National Mountain Guides Association.

“The climber likely died after being exposed to extreme cold for an extended period,” Mr Gurung was quoted by The Chosun Daily as saying.

Other trekkers described suffering from hypothermia after being buried in the dense snow. Hiker Eric Wen told Reuters that three people in his group got hypothermia even with sufficient attire.

He said the group had to clear the snow every 10 minutes at night, “otherwise our tents would have collapsed”.

Chen Geshuang, who was part of an 18-strong team that was evacuated safely, said: “It happened all too suddenly.”

“All of us are experienced hikers,” Ms Chen, 29, told BBC News. “But this blizzard was still extremely difficult to deal with. I was so lucky to get out.”

“Many people come here to hike during the Golden Week, but this year’s snow was exceptional,” she said. Their guide also said such weather on the eastern slope of Everest was highly unusual, she added.

In the Qilian Mountains on the border straddling western Qinghai and Gansu provinces, at least one trekker who was stranded in a gully by the snowstorms died, while 137 others were evacuated, state-run Beijing News reported.

Trekkers to the Karma valley that leads to the eastern face of Everest, Kangshung, swelled to the hundreds in recent days, spurred by the eight-day National Day holiday in China.

The Karma valley, first explored by Western travellers a century ago, is a relatively pristine part of the Everest region. Unlike the peak’s arid north face, it boasts lush vegetation and untouched alpine forests, fed by meltwaters from the Kangshung glacier at the foot of the world’s highest mountain.

Mount Everest, known as Mount Qomolangma in Chinese, straddles the border between China and Nepal, where recent heavy rains have left more than 40 people dead.

Climbers attempt to scale the world’s tallest peak from base camps in both countries. The base camp for climbers is separate from the tourist camp where hikers were trapped by the snowfall.

Explosions as van erupts in flames near French PM’s office in Paris

Explosions were heard in Paris before a van caught on fire near the French prime minister’s Office, just a day after his resignation.

Witnesses reported hearing three explosions near the Hotel Matignon, where Sebastien Lecornu had been due to hold meetings after his resignation, Le Parisien reported.

Pictures from the scene show a van in flames as emergency services seek to contain the blaze. Local media have reported that the fire was contained to the van and has not spread to any surrounding buildings.

It is not clear what caused the explosions or fire. A firefighter said to reporters that the blaze was caused by a mechanical fault in the company’s equipment.

Images shared on social media appear to show the van belongs to a public lighting company. The road, Rue de Varenne, has been cordoned off with officers stationed to prevent entry.

Mr Lecornu’s resignation came just a day after naming his ministers, and after only 27 days in the role. The former defence minister, was due to deliver his general policy statement to the National Assembly on Tuesday.

His resignation makes it the shortest-lived government of the Fifth Republic. He is the fifth prime minister to resign from the role in two years.

“The conditions were no longer met for me to be able to exercise my functions and allow the government to go before the National Assembly tomorrow,” he said in a statement on Monday.

He continued that “these political parties sometimes pretended not to see the change, the profound rupture, not to use Article 49.3. There was no longer any pretext for parliamentarians to refuse to do their job.”

Article 49.3 gives the government the power to pass bills without a vote from parliament.

President Emmanuel Macron has asked Mr Lecornu to renew negotiations with opposition parties to find a way out of the instability the country is facing, according to Reuters.

We need to stop trauma-dumping on new mums – it makes them anxious

My first experience of giving birth was an emergency C-section. I was thrust onto a wheelie trolley and cut open in the early hours of the morning. It can’t get more raw than that.

The contractions beforehand were literally unbearable. I had refused an epidural – and then begged for one. There are plenty of gory details I could go into here. But I won’t. While it was one of the hardest experiences of my life, don’t think new or expecting mothers need to hear it.

A new website called Frida Uncensored, which launched in the UK this summer, thinks it’s essential that they do. The platform for mums-to-be and new mums is “a stripped-down resource for women, by women” with real, unfiltered and explicit X-rated “how-to videos”, starring half-naked mums in clips titled “How to heal a postpartum vagina”, “How to soothe engorged breasts”, and “How to treat cracked nipples”.

Another video, “How to do a prenatal perineal massage”, reveals a mum lubricating herself before stretching her vulva with a prepare-to-push perineal massage wand. “How to treat a C-section scar”, meanwhile, is enough to put anybody off having a baby, as if Gen Z or Millennials needed any more discouragement.

The website was developed by Chelsea Hirschhorn, the founder and CEO of the parenting and fertility health brand Frida, who created the “The SnotSucker Nasal Aspirator” for newborns and toddlers. She also uses her own mum’s products in many of the videos. She told The Times that the videos are “not for provocation”, but for “education”.

I’m sure many women like me are relieved they didn’t see these videos before having a baby. Though some of them are useful, such as “How to do an at-home insemination” and “How to keep sperm close to the cervix”.

But why would new mums need to see the private parts of a fellow mum as she squirts soap up her vagina with an upside-down peri bottle, while sitting on the toilet, in “How to clean a postpartum vagina”? It’s just another thing to worry about in the world of modern parenting, along with nutrition trends and parenting styles.

The danger with this type of hysteria, also often seen on forums Mumsnet and Netmums, is that it’s probably not helping anyone. Most mums have horror stories – but trauma-dumping only makes new parents more anxious. It’s under the guise of being real, but it risks making people freak out. It’s like managing one’s expectations of a holiday by reading tons of bad reviews on TripAdvisor.

The website Frida Uncensored states that it aims to help women who are poorly equipped for parenthood: according to research by Frida, one in three mothers in the UK feels unprepared for having their baby and struggles to find accurate information. But really, I think that mothers will feel even more unprepared if they’re led to believe every experience is traumatic.

I’m not dismissing the fact that new motherhood is daunting, and financial struggles can make it feel impossible. I was out of my mind on elation and exhaustion – and the sole parent. I’d chosen (sort of) to have children on my own after my partner died while we were in the midst of IVF, and I went on to have his two children, Lola and Liberty, now nine and seven, following his death with his banked sperm.

Enough people told me I was crazy to do it alone, and especially to push the boat by having a second child. I ignored them – just as I did the litany of worries attached to motherhood: cracked nipples, diaper blowouts (or poo explosions), blocked milk ducts, babies not latching on, babies screaming all night, total burnout to the point of collapse, sagging skin, no life, no money, and the loss of all your non-parent friends.

The truth is that motherhood – or the overwhelming nature of impending parenthood – gets a bad reputation. In fact, having a baby is not rocket science. Yes, it’s tough, with little infrastructure to help working parents. But the reality is it’s much harder with a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old with complex emotional needs than a baby who drinks milk and sleeps.

For any parent, it’s always been a learning curve that we mostly all survive and get the hang of. We have parents, best friends – and even grandparents – who all got through it. Everywhere I go, other mums are dying to share their experiences with me. It becomes irritating to get so much feedback.

It’s true that parenting platforms, like Frida Uncensored, can dispel the sometimes outdated narrative on having a baby – and show it warts and all. Especially when social media is full of picture-perfect ideals of motherhood that create unrealistic expectations – and contribute to a feeling of “compare and despair” and mum guilt. But we don’t need more fear, and videos of what mastitis looks like in the armpit just don’t help.

I wonder if some of it might avoidably scare the living daylights out of some women in the early days of pregnancy. The overwhelming nature of impending parenthood is enough to deal with. The philosophy to be forewarned is forearmed isn’t always best. A 14-hour labour marathon is nothing compared to the daily 14-hour work/life juggle with pre-teens. But at the end of the day, it’s worth it.

Police investigating after Rosie Jones victim of ‘ableist’ attack

Police are investigating after comedian Rosie Jones was the victim of an ableist and homophobic attack on a train, where a plastic bottle of wine was thrown at her and a friend.

The 35-year-old, who is also a writer and has ataxic cerebral palsy, which affects her movement and speech, said the perpetrators “shouted slurs” and mocked her voice, as well as that of comedian Lee Peart, who was with her on the journey.

Peart said in a video filmed on the train that he and Jones were “attacked by ableist and homophobic arseholes”. The footage, taken on Sunday (5 October), shows splatters of wine across the table and the wall next to where they were sitting in the carriage.

Pushers star Jones added: “Three people mocked both of our voices, threw wine at us. What a f***ing waste!”

Elaborating on the incident, Jones posted a message on Instagram, saying that she was intending to celebrate World Cerebral Palsy Day.

“Today was going to be about me celebrating all that is good and brilliant about having CP,” she wrote. “But on the train home from our gig last night, me and my good pal Lee were victims of ableism and homophobia.

“They mocked our voices, shouted slurs at us and even threw a wine bottle (plastic, thankfully). It was a stark reminder that my CP makes me stand out, and is often used as a weapon against me. Unfortunately, the worms of this world use my disability to try and make me feel like a victim. I am not.”

“People with cerebral palsy should never be made to feel like guests in an unwelcoming and hostile world which wasn’t set up for people like us,” Jones added. “We have just as much of a right to be here as anybody else. AND DON’T FORGET IT.”

Jones ended her message on a positive note, saying she is “proud to have cerebral palsy” and that setting up her cerebral palsy charity, The Rosie Jones Foundation, was her “greatest achievement to date”.

In a follow-up post, Peart said: “Thank you for your lovely, lovely messages we are both doing fine and yes we have reported it. The BTP (British Transport Police) took us home and were wonderful. Rosie Jones is a wonderful human.”

In a statement given to The Independent, British Transport Police said: “Officers were called to East Croydon railway station at around 10.30pm on Sunday (5 October) following reports of a group of people abusing and assaulting other passengers on a train from Brighton to Victoria.

“Enquiries are ongoing, and anyone who witnessed anything or has any information is asked to contact BTP by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 672 of 5 October.”

The Independent has contacted Jones’s representatives for comment.

Speaking to The Independent earlier this year, Jones said she felt that the UK was “going backwards” and that disabled people were being treated “unfairly”.

That being said, Jones added that she “grew up in a loving, happy, healthy home” and was supported by her parents, who told her she “could be anything, so I went out into the world fighting and became the person I am today”.

The Independent named Jones on the 2024 Women’s List, where she was credited with being “a staple on British small screens” and “delighting audiences with her trademark wit and comedic timing” in shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats and The Last Leg.

In 2024, Jones released a documentary tackling her cerebral palsy. Am I a R*tard? painted a sobering picture of what Jones must deal with on a daily basis.

Jones also created the 2025 Channel 4 sitcom Pushers, about a drug dealer with cerebral palsy. The show, which featured an inclusive cast of disabled actors was widely prasied on release. In a four-star review, The Independent’s Nick Hilton said the show was a “clever observational comedy that skewers attitudes to disability”.

Eats, Beats and Storied Streets: A journey through Louisiana

Few places in America are as spellbinding as Louisiana. Streets are alive with music, every table groans with food that tells a story, and every river bend reveals landscapes as mysterious as they are beautiful. Whether you’re dancing to zydeco in Lafayette, devouring beignets in the French Quarter, or gliding through the Atchafalaya swamps in search of alligators, this is a destination which offers travellers an unforgettable blend of rhythm, flavour and culture.

Music that Moves You

A seemingly never-ending party, a stroll through the bouncing streets of New Orleans’ French Quarter is one of America’s most thrilling sensory experiences. Guitars crunch, symbols crash and horns howl on every street corner, from Bourbon Street to Frenchmen Street. This Cajun corner of the US has a deep heritage too, and the Preservation Hall – dating back to 1961 – is an essential stop. With its intimate time-worn walls and wooden chairs facing the small stage, it’s a shrine to New Orleans jazz and every note should be savoured.

But Louisiana’s music tradition goes far beyond the Big Easy. Beginning in 1981, the Baton Rouge Blues Festival is one of the country’s oldest blues festivals and the state capital is a haven of Cajun music. It’s also the home of the swamp blues, so to hear the best of these laid-back rhythms, spend a foot-tapping night at Phil Brady’s Bar & Grill or Henry Turner Jr’s Listening Room. And for a little backyard boogie from local Louisiana musicians, try and hit the wonderfully chilled out Bee Nice Concert Series.

One of the more niche regional sounds is zydeco, and these infectious beats driven by accordions and washboards are perfect for dancing the night away. Over in Lafayette, the lush outdoor Hideaway on Lee and the charming Blue Moon Saloon host high-energy zydeco and Cajun jams. For a deeper dive into this unique music of the swamp, drop by the Festivals Acadiens et Créoles for three glorious days of Cajun, Creole, and zydeco sounds.

Flavours to Savour

Louisiana has one of America’s most distinct food cultures, with Creole dishes like gumbo and jambalaya not found anywhere else. Needless to say, the fiery flavours found in these creations are sublime and it’s no surprise that 2025 is Louisiana’s Year of Food.

With its rich broth, often featuring a roux base and embellished by juicy shrimp and thick sausage, gumbo is arguably the quintessential Creole dish. If you’re in New Orleans, look no further than no–frills downtown spots like Coop’s Place or head out to neighbourhood joints like the upscale Gabrielle Restaurant who serve a smoky take on Cajun-style gumbo or the dense dishes plated up at Liuzza’s by the Track. And if you’re so enraptured by this unique stew, then learn how to make it at home at the New Orleans School of Cooking.

A Cajun rice dish that originated in southern Louisiana in the 18th Century, Jambalaya is also iconic down here and can include meats, vegetables, seafood and spices in its mouthwatering mix. The Jambalaya Shoppe is dotted all around southern Louisiana and is a good place to start, though make time to visit Gonzales – the ‘Jambalaya Capital of the World. It even has its own Jambalaya Festival every spring.

Remember to make time for sweet treats though, as Louisiana’s beignets are something special. Warm, deep-fried pastries dusted with powdered sugar, these gentle delights are the perfect cafe snack. Open since 1862, the Cafe du Monde is an iconic French Quarter spot to watch the world go by with a beignet and café au lait.

And if you’re here for Mardi Gras, make sure to sample the sweet colourful King Cake as the jaunty floats pass by.

Culture and the Great Outdoors

Louisiana’s diverse cultural heritage is as unique as its landscape. French, Spanish, African, Caribbean and native influences all converge into Cajun and Creole identities and that’s most famously reflected in the state’s sublime cuisine. But don’t miss the great outdoors, as Louisiana’s biodiversity is enchanting too.

Acadiana’s humid moss-cloaked swamps and bayous are one of America’s last wildernesses, and boat tours of these serene and ethereal landscapes are unforgettable, especially if you spot wildlife like American Alligators, beavers, herons, eagles and white tail deer. The Atchafalaya Basin, just east of Lafayette, is a particular haven and several airboat tours depart from here, including McGee’s Swamp Tours and Last Wilderness Swamp Tours.

Road trails through these bayous can be just as inspiring, and the Bayou Teche National Byway tells stories. Running for 183 miles from Arnaudville down to Morgan City, this serpentine route passes by ornate antebellum homes like Shadows-on-the-Teche, tranquil fields of sugar cane, breezy swamps and historic towns packed with friendly cafes, zydeco dancehalls and local museums.

Look out for the region’s lively 400+ festivals too, which often celebrate Louisiana’s local culture. The Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette celebrates the links between Acadiana and the Francophone world, through music, art and food, while the Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival in Opelousas aims to preserve Louisiana’s most gleeful music genre. And there’s no better way of learning about the state’s people and heritage than at the various tours, concerts, talks and cultural events held in Vermillionville in Lafayette.

Pilots urge grounding of all Boeing 787s in India after emergency power device deploys mid-air

India’s largest pilots’ union has urged regulators to ground and inspect all Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in the country after an Air India flight’s emergency power device unexpectedly activated mid-air.

The ram air turbine or RAT, a backup system that deploys automatically to provide emergency power during in-flight failures, dropped from the fuselage of flight AI117 en route to Birmingham, UK, on Saturday even though the airline later confirmed that all systems were operating normally.

The Federation of Indian Pilots, representing some 6,000 pilots, called the incident “unprecedented” and warned that it could have signalled an electrical malfunction.

The union sent a letter to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation asking for a full inspection of all 34 Dreamliner aircraft in the country.

“I have never heard of the RAT being deployed automatically without any hydraulic loss, power loss or failures,” the association’s president, Charanvir Singh Randhawa, was quoted as saying by The New York Times.

The incident occurred on 4 October when flight AI117 from Amritsar, in the northern Indian state of Punjab, was en route to Birmingham. The pilots of the 12-year-old Boeing 787-8 were alarmed when its RAT deployed during the approach to runway 33 even though the aircraft’s power systems and engines were working fine.

The aircraft landed safely but the return flight was cancelled as a precaution. It was cleared to fly again the next day on the Birmingham-Delhi route.

In response to a query from The Independent, Boeing said: “We’ll have to defer to the customer for comments.” The Independent has contacted Air India for comment.

This is the second notable incident involving a Boeing 787 in recent months. The crash of Air India flight 171 in June, which killed 260 people, occurred after the RAT deployed following a loss of power.

A preliminary investigation into the incident in June confirmed that the turbine deployed after the plane lost power, but officials are still working to determine the reason for the loss of power. The preliminary report noted that the Dreamliner’s fuel-control switches were moved from “run” to “cutoff” just before impact, cutting off fuel to both engines.

Air India, a Tata Group airline, said after the latest incident that the Birmingham flight landed safely on Saturday and an initial inspection showed “all electrical and hydraulic parameters were normal”.

“It is a serious concern that warrants a detailed inquiry,” Captain Randhawa said, according to the Associated Press.

Regulators are yet to say whether they will investigate the incident.

The Independent has reached out to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for comment.

Tories mocked over misspelling ‘Britain’ on conference chocolate bar

The Conservatives have spelled “Britain” wrong in one of their handouts in an embarrassing blunder at their party conference in Manchester.

Party officials handed out chocolate bars with the quote, “When Labour negotiates, Britian loses”, emblazoned across it – a quote attributed to Kemi Badenoch.

The quote has been repeatedly used by the Tory leader in response to Labour negotiations, including the deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, as well as in response to trade deals negotiated with the US, India and the European Union.

A Tory source said the spelling mistake was a “printing error”.

Amid devastating approval ratings and questions over Ms Badenoch’s leadership, this year’s conference is notably much quieter than last.

The corporate presence is significantly slimmed down, while attendance at the main stage for major speeches given by the shadow cabinet is generally sparse.

Protesters, including anti-Brexit demonstrator Steve Bray, have stayed away, in what is thought to be a sign of the fading relevance of the Tories under Ms Badenoch.

Many stalls, which would previously have been taken up by businesses, a key source of money for the party, were left empty with Conservative branding in place instead.

It came as a new poll conducted by YouGov for Sky News found that half of all Conservative members think Ms Badenoch should not lead the party into the next election.

The poll of 652 Conservative members, taken between 26 September and 2 October, found 46 per cent think the current Tory leader should stay in place when the country next goes to the polls, while 50 per cent say she should not.

Meanwhile, a seat-by-seat YouGov poll published earlier this month showed that the Tories would face a disaster scenario if an election were held today, being left with just 45 MPs – putting them behind Reform UK, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, which the poll put at 78 MPs.

Responding to the spelling error, a Labour source said: “Yet another Tory Flake. They can’t proofread five words on a bar of chocolate.

“This conference really isn’t proving to be the Boost Kemi needs.”