After three defections in ten days, what exactly can Kemi Badenoch do to get back on the front foot? With her back against the wall, Badenoch tried to come out fighting and address the defections head-on. The question of how to best stop Nigel Farage is one that has bedevilled Tory strategists for years. ‘I’m sorry you didn’t win the leadership contest, I’m sorry you didn’t get a job in the shadow cabinet, I’m sorry you didn’t get into the Lords.’ These were jibes aimed squarely at Farage’s latest recruits. Badenoch then tried to pivot the story of the ‘battle on the right’ away from personalities and back on to parliament.