Kemi Badenoch says she would rather fight another general election than enter a coalition with Nigel Farage. On that, she is right. But rejecting Reform is no substitute for giving voters a reason to return to the Conservatives.
Tories still talking to themselves
A week ago, at the Labour conference, Andy Burnham offered difficult choices, big ideas and a clear argument about how Britain should change. Given her moment, Ms Badenoch offered a party that was still largely talking to itself.
Voters are not crying out for lectures about Conservative identity. They want to know how their bills will come down, when they will get a GP appointment, whether their children can afford a home, why wages feel squeezed and how crumbling public services will be fixed.
Mr Burnham at least tried to answer those questions. Ms Badenoch talked about saving the Tory Party. Voters need someone focused on saving the country.
Cancer treatment target missed
For cancer patients, every week of waiting can mean the difference between hope and heartbreak. That is why the warning from Cancer Research UK is so alarming.
On current performance, England will miss a key cancer treatment target by more than three years, with the 62-day standard not expected to be met until April 2032. Ministers have promised that by March 2029, 85% of patients will begin treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral. That commitment must be more than another date on a Government spreadsheet.
Patients facing one of the most frightening moments of their lives deserve speed, certainty and care. Ministers must act now, put whatever resources are needed into cutting these waits and make certain that no cancer patient is left paying the price for delay.
Archer's remarkable return
Jeffrey Archer was a bundle of contradictions: a bestselling storyteller who became a convicted liar, a political insider who ended up behind bars, a man of immense ambition repeatedly undone by his own behaviour.
Yet he kept returning. Brilliant, brazen, disgraced and resilient, Archer's life was as compelling as any of his plots.
