Cabinet Office minister Ellie Reeves says Labour is closing ‘Tory freebies loophole’ over declaring hospitality

• Badenoch criticised for pamphlet’s ‘stigmatising’ remarks on autism

The Autism Centre of Excellence at Cambridge, a charity that works with Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre, has put out a post on social media strongly criticising Kemi Badenoch for the comments about autism released earlier this month in an essay put out under her name. (See 9.40am.) The centre says:

We fully agree with @iburrell in @theipaper that @KemiBadenoch’s comments are ‘an offensive claim far removed from the grim reality of many despairing citizens and families struggling for support.’

We need leaders who take the time to understand the complexity of the issues they are commenting on – and who bring workable solutions to the table. The best way to do both is to talk to people with lived experience.

Another key issue is the low status of carers in society. And this was demonstrated by his rival Kemi Badenoch during the conference hustings, when she talked about focusing on the future “not just who’s going to wipe bottoms for us today.”

No wonder social care never gets fixed and carers are left badly paid when a prominent politician sneers so dismissively at workers performing a public service. And now Badenoch, in a report called “Conservatism in Crisis” released this month, argues that autism diagnosis can give children “better treatment at school” and “offers economic advantages and protection” – an offensive claim far removed from the grim reality of many despairing citizens and families struggling for support.