Dominic Cummings has spoken, and—no surprise—he’s not impressed. The Tories are “intellectually dead,” Kemi Badenoch is a “bad joke,” and Nigel Farage is more famous than the entire shadow cabinet combined. But while Badenoch’s allies insist she just needs time, time is precisely what she doesn’t have. The Conservatives are slipping, Reform is rising, and Farage is relishing the fight. With MPs getting nervous and rumours swirling of a Tory-Reform pact, could the unthinkable be on the cards? In this edition of Despatch, William Atkinson explores whether the Tories’ only way forward is a deal with their greatest rival—or if Badenoch can outmanoeuvre Farage before it’s too late.

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