Katy Balls and James Heale

A year ago, Reform party aides found themselves in a cramped office in Victoria, London, bickering about chairs. ‘There weren’t enough seats to go around,’ recalls a staffer. These days there are no such issues. Leading in the polls and with five MPs in tow, Nigel Farage’s party has moved to Westminster’s Millbank Tower. This 1960s block peering over the Thames is where Tony Blair’s landslide victories were fought for and won; the new tenants are intent on dismantling most of his legacy as they plot a path to 10 Downing Street. Look at any opinion survey and Reform is hard to dismiss. Having won 14 per cent of the vote in last year’s general election, the party consistently leads in the polls.

The result is in. Kemi Badenoch is the new leader of the Conservative party. She faces a daunting task trying to transform the party, following its worst ever defeat earlier this year. The new Tory leader won with 56.5 per cent of the vote with her rival Robert Jenrick on 43.5 per cent. So, who will be the key players in ‘Team Badenoch’? She faces an uphill task on funding, campaigns, staffing and party management. In the aftermath of July’s election defeat, and a drop-off in party donations, Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) has been forced to cut back on staff numbers. Meanwhile, there aren’t that many Conservative MPs to choose from when it comes to building a crack team. With the parliamentary party totalling 121 MPs, it won’t be hard to get a job.