Just days before the 100th anniversary of the birth of Margaret Thatcher, on 13 October, Kemi Badenoch opened the Conservative conference by twice praising the party's heroine and three-time election winner.

"The facts of life are Conservative," the Tory leader declared, quoting the former PM, before praising her for breaking the cycle of high inflation, low growth and the stranglehold of the trade unions in the 1980s.

But as her rather flat delivery in her 28-minute opening speech confirmed, Ms Badenoch is no Margaret Thatcher.

(Perhaps she needs a voice coach, like Mrs T, who was transformed by tutoring from Gordon Reece in her early days as Tory leader.)

For lovers of political trivia, however, Kemi and Maggie do have one thing in common.

Both met their husbands when they were figh

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