Lucy Fisher

However, while this time last year there was a lot of kind of chatter that if Badenoch hadn't severely turned around the fortunes of the party, that her leadership could be on the line, now appear to be wider the mark.

And that is in part because she has done a lot to sort of bolster the confidence in her from donors, from MPs,

But also, you know, the polling shows she polls far ahead of the party.

So the Tory brand still remains wildly unpopular after 14 years of administration.

But her personal poll ratings are much more favourable.

So I think she is probably safe for now.

And look, they could have a sort of a patchwork narrative.

They are going to lose a lot of seats across the country today.

But they may yet win back councils like Westminster, like Wandsworth, possibly Barnet in London, that mean they can present this as a bit of a mixed picture with a silver lining in parts.

Well, I think it certainly raised a lot of eyebrows.

It is such an eye-wateringly large personal gift.

He claims that it is an unconditional personal gift, has no influence on him or policy.

But I think it has led to a lot of surprise that this wasn't declared.

Obviously, Labour and the Tories and the Lib Dems say it should have been.

They are questioning whether this is a matter for investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

And lots of critics pointing out that he was given this huge personal sum by a crypto investor.

And reform has gone on to develop a lot of policy on the fairly niche area of crypto, including proposing lower regulations, lower taxation.

So, I think there's a lot more to be seen on this issue.

Well, it's a difficult and damning moment for unionists, that's to be sure.

However, you know, in Wales, Plaid Cymru have made clear that they wouldn't be seeking an independence referendum in any first term.