Leading Britain's opposition is not a job for the faint-hearted, Winston Churchill once

said being shot was a kindness compared to it. By this weekend we'll know who the next

incumbent is.

Welcome to Power Play, Politico's Weekly Podcast, where I talk to some of the most influential people on either side of the Atlantic.

I'm Anne McElvoy. If you haven't already, please take a moment to follow this podcast.

You won't miss an episode with a guest you might like to hear from in a crucial election year

on both sides of the Atlantic.

My guest this week is Kermi Badenenock who's aspiring to lead Britain's Conservative

Party until this year the most successful election-winning force in the Democratic

world. But in July at the general election, just

121 Conservative MPs were returned to Westminster, barely enough to provide an

effective official opposition.

Bedanoc has emerged as the probable winner of the ensuing leadership race,

but she also divides opinion.

She's forthright, often accused of being rude and with questions to answer on how

her leadership style would work to rebuild a bruised party. Can she revive it

after 14 often four years in office and make it relevant again when the new

Labour government has just delivered its keynote budget? Kimi Bedinock, welcome to Power Play.

Thank you, Ann.

Pleased to be it.

Well, I'm pleased to be with you because I'm actually sitting down in your office here at the

Commons just hours after the Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the first woman to hold that office

...