Mel Stride and Kemi BadenochMel Stride’s attempt to defend Kemi Badenoch fell apart when he insisted the Conservative leader “will get better” at her job.Badenoch only became Tory leader in November, four months after the Tories’ historic general election defeat last July.But since then, the Conservatives have slumped even further, with the part losing nearly 700 councillors at last month’s local elections and even slipping to fourth place in a recent opinions poll, behind Reform UK, Labour and the