Digested week: Don’t worry about the plague, go and read some Anne Carson | Emma Brockes
The world may be going to hell in a handcart, but at least now I get to say I know a Nobel prize winner“Anyone worried about pneumonic plague?” This is a friend – a medic – texting me after reading reports at the weekend of the 28-year-old Russian woman…
The Guardian view on Conservative conference: struggling to break out of the comfort zone | Editorial
Kemi Badenoch’s personal brand is not strong enough to revive a party that so thoroughly lost the trust of the British peopleFor a party that keeps losing elections, the Conservatives have enjoyed a remarkably upbeat conference in Birmingham this week.…
Tories accused of prioritising rich voters as Badenoch lays out inheritance tax cut plan
Party hopes to win over affluent middle-class voters as leader rejects calls to ‘unite the right’ in conference speechKemi Badenoch has announced that the Conservatives would abolish inheritance tax on family homes if elected, prompting criticism that…
Badenoch made the best of it – but the Tories still have a mountain to climb before any hope of No 10 | Henry Hill
Conference announcements on inheritance tax and childcare boosted the party’s mood, but the task is still holding off Reform, rather than any realistic bid for powerOn paper, the traditional role of the journalist at a British party conference boils down…
‘People are scared of her, to be honest’: Kemi Badenoch remakes Tories in her image
At Conservative conference, some worry about becoming a one-woman party, while others say party should thank their lucky stars they have herUK politics live – latest updatesKemi Badenoch has long said that the Conservatives were “under new management”,…
Don’t mention the Iron Dome: comedy genius Kemi on warpath at Tory conference | John Crace
‘It’s a Britannia Shield’ announcement proves no one does farcical improv better than the Conservative leaderJust another day in Crapland. It’s amazing what you can get used to. You can’t say the Tories haven’t put a lot of thought into their party…
Burnham’s surprise EU-turn could deliver the Tories from a generational mess | Gaby Hinsliff
Badenoch would never have reopened the door on Brexit, but now that the PM has, it suits the Conservatives to let him walk through itThere’s no way on earth it should have worked, but somehow he may have got away with it. Last week, the actor Richard E…
The Guardian view on Tory economics: Britain’s future needs more than Thatcher’s past | Editorial
The Conservatives blame their failures on abandoning their 1976 principles. But the country needs investment and resilience rather than another round of spending cutsThe Conservative party wants to go back to the future under Kemi Badenoch. In her…
No queues, empty seats and the worst speech ever heard: welcome to the Tory conference | John Crace
Birmingham event is like a safari park attraction where we get to see the remnants of a party in a protected habitatAt the Labour party conference in Liverpool last week, Andy Burnham floated the idea of electoral reform. This week in Birmingham, the…
Badenoch is trying to match Farage step for step – but it’s a dance of death for the Tories | Polly Toynbee
At conference here in Birmingham I found a small battalion of centrist remainers with a vision for the Conservative party to comeYou can walk all the way from Somerset to Sussex without crossing a Tory-run constituency, if you wish. You could also travel…