Voices: And they’re off: Kemi Badenoch takes an early lead in the Tory leadership stakes

We have not one but two articles by Conservative leadership candidates in the newspapers this morning. Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, has an article in The Sun saying Brexit was a vote of confidence in the country. And Robert Jenrick, described by the online version of The Daily Telegraph as “immigration minister”, which was his job until Wednesday, has written a longer version of his resignation letter.

The has been so rapid that someone who is well connected to what he calls “the party in the shires” has mentioned Bob Hawke to me. This is code between us for a late change of leadership before an election, which is what the Australian