Suella Braverman has penned a blistering op-ed for The Telegraph, doing the Tories no favours as they make a last-ditch effort before tomorrow’s polls. Declaring the election “over,” Braverman argued the real fight is to save the Tories from extinction, lauding Reform UK and its leader, Nigel Farage:

“Today the grandees – who, remember, bear no responsibility for the fate of the party they have led – lash out at Nigel Farage and Reform. I don’t agree with Mr Farage on everything, but we Tories need to reflect honestly and with humility to ask ourselves how a start-up party, with very little infrastructure, has galvanised the electorate and lured so many of our lifelong supporters?

The Reform phenomenon was predictable, avoidable and is entirely our own fault. This simple fact seems to be lost on my colleagues who have driven our party’s bus off the side of the cliff, while angrily blaming those of us who kept pointing at the obvious signs saying: “Cliff Edge Dead Ahead, Bad for Buses”.

Throughout the campaign, Braverman has suggested the Tories find a way to work with Farage, though that olive branch was quickly rebuffed by the Reform leader, who promised “all marriages were off.” Braverman has been rumoured to have her eyes set on a leadership bid, with her website, suella4leader.co.uk, last updated in June. Is this a not so subtle sign she might defect?

UPDATE: Farage says he backs Braverman’s admission that the Tories deserve to lose votes: “All she’s saying is what we have been saying throughout the campaign. The only logical conclusion you can take from her evisceration of her own party is that if you want to see people in the Commons fighting for the policies she espouses and standing up to Starmer, you need to vote for Reform UK.“

The Daily Mail has now followed The Telegraph and run an interesting piece titled “Why is Sir Keir Starmer’s wife not accompanying him on the campaign trail?“. It notes that many in the party think “Lady Vic” would be great on the campaign trail but is being kept off it for privacy. It says party insiders “have claimed that her absence is to protect the couple’s children.” In his Wednesday night interview with Beth Rigby in Grimsby Starmer said that children are the only thing that keeps him up at night:

“My only fear really is the impact it’s going to have on them. That’s why we never name them in public, never have a photo shoot with them. I want them to be able to go to school and have their own lives unaffected as much as I can by what I’m doing… the only thing that sort of keeps me up at night is worrying about my children.“

Labour sources suggest there are various reasons for Starmer’s insistence on privacy for his family. As The Telegraph declared this week – “Come what may, the spotlight will be on.”…

The Telegraph has invested a lot in the success of their new podcast The Daily T. Though with negative reactions amongst the public and trailers on social media flopping, it hasn’t got off to a good start. Editorial is now seeking support from their own instead…

The Managing Editor’s office have sent Telegraph personnel an email subjected “Request” begging them to listen and give good reviews, pleading: “it would be great if everyone in the newsroom could help to promote it across their social media platforms when it drops at 5pm. Listen, rate and like!” One source tells Guido:

“When it comes to The Daily T, so far it’s T for ‘terrified’ among the Telegraph’s editors who are panicking that they’ve squandered hundreds of thousands of pounds on yet another idiotic experiment.”

Nervous times at Telegraph towers…

The Telegraph and Spectator titles are heading back on the market, Guido hears, after RedBird IMI informed the government it intends to step back from the acquisition process. Whether that remains RedBird’s final position remains to be seen…

An announcement from DCMS is expected in the next few minutes. The auction will be run by (George Osborne shop) Robey Warshaw and Raine. Market sources involved say that there is ‘considerable’ interest in the assets – mainly from ‘beyond the UK’ with number of funds lining up to take a look. There is certainly market interest at buying the trophy assets at a premium – the question (again) is who will be able to navigate a successful bid. Nervous times at Telegraph towers…

UPDATE: Statement from Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer:

The parties have signalled their intention to withdraw from the deal. Throughout this process I have raised concerns about the potential impact of this deal on free expression and accurate presentation of news, and I took steps to ensure that media freedom was protected while there was an investigation into those concerns.

I will now allow the parties to conduct an orderly transition and I will monitor the outcome with a view to taking any further regulatory action as required under the Enterprise Act.

The free press is a cornerstone of our democracy, and we cannot take it for granted. That is why I used my powers as Culture Secretary to investigate this deal.

More widely, it is why we are banning any ownership, influence, or control by foreign states of our newspapers and news magazines. We are acting to ensure that we retain the ability to step in where necessary to protect the integrity and independence of these publications, given the unique role they play in our democracy.”

Downing Street denies blocking Penny Mordaunt penning an article for The Sunday Telegraph on defence spending this weekend – contrary to whispers going around. Downing Street claims they didn’t block Penny from writing for the paper, despite it being pulled at the last minute according to Fleet Street sources. Penny is said to be pretty angry about it…

Penny’s been hitting the headlines recently over speculation of a potential leadership bid before the election, and it looks like Downing Street are now trying to rein her in. One Westminster source says:

“Open season on the PM is over. She can either be a member of the cabinet or she can campaign to lead it. She cannot expect to be allowed to do both.”

On the offence…

UPDATE: Downing Street says that Penny’s piece was written for the Mail on Sunday, who rejected it. Another op-ed had already been organised in The Sunday Telegraph so Penny’s was agreed to go to them next week. Penny’s team blames internal miscommunication for the mishap. Their robust response shows the degree of concern about Penny being seen to be offside…

Nigel Farage had a feisty interview with Camilla Tominey today for The Telegraph. Tominey pushed Nigel on what his career plans may be, to which which the former Brexit Party Leader responded in a fairly testy way. One thing confirmed is that he wouldn’t “join the Tories even if they asked him”…

Unsurprisingly, he blasted the Tories, wanting to see them be them totally “replaced“, saying that although Reform will not “do well” in the local elections, he still thinks they’ll get more votes than the Conservatives in the election. In terms of his own future, he has three options: carry on with his GB News job, move to Florida (though he “can’t remember” whether Trump has offered him a job), or stand for Reform and make a return to politics. He didn’t rule out the third option…