Badenoch's Big Conference Moment: Will Tory Donors Open Their Wallets?
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch delivers a key speech at the party conference in Birmingham, needing to win over both voters and donors. Podcast hosts see signs the party's finances are not strong enough to fight an election on two fronts.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch faces a pivotal day at the party's conference in Birmingham. Beyond winning over loyal members, she must also impress voters and the party's donors.
Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy, hosts of Politico Europe's "EU Confidential" podcast, examine how her speech is likely to land with both audiences. Badenoch herself has described her message as a "battle for the soul of the country".
Money worries
According to the hosts, there are already signs that the Tories' finances are not in the shape needed to fight an election on two fronts. They picked up these clues from what they observed in the conference hall in Birmingham.
Greens and Zionism
The programme also looks at the Green Party, whose delegates adopted a motion declaring Zionism a form of racism. The hosts consider what that means for party leader Zack Polanski.
The episode description also points listeners to the list of candidates standing in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
Coates and McElvoy will return later with a special debrief edition analysing Badenoch's speech, due to be released in mid-afternoon.
