From the Guardian live blog
What Badenoch/Farage Chagos row reveals about contest between Tories and Reform UK
While in some respects the Nigel Farage/Kemi Badenoch Chagos Islands row is just a slightly manufactured spat between two leaders who are not in a position to decide the future of the Chagos Islands anyway, it is revealing about the state of opposition politics, in three respects.
First, this is further evidence that the fight between the Tories and Reform is increasingly bitter. Here they are arguing over a policy where, essentially, their views are very similar. This time last year there was informal talk of a potential pact. Now there is an acrimonious fight to be the dominant party on the right.
Second, it is interesting that Badenoch keen to attack Farage on the grounds of his closeness to Donald Trump. Two years ago, Badenoch found it hard to say a bad word about the US president. But, as Trump gets every more erratic and unpopular, Badenoch is increasingly willing to say he’s wrong – and having him as a friend becomes ever more of a problem for the Reform UK leader.
And, third, this is further evidence that papers like the Telegraph, the Daily Mail and the Sun, which until recently were probably more pro-Farage than pro-Conservative, and now siding more with Badenoch’s party. (Farage was complaining about this at his press conference on Monday.)
The Murdoch influence? 🤔