Kemi Badenoch has put the Tory Party on notice for a pre-Christmas general election, amid growing speculation that Andy Burnham will call a snap poll.
The Opposition leader – who galvanised the party faithful with her conference speech in Birmingham – told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I’ve instructed the Conservative Party to be ready for an election at any point.’
Mrs Badenoch does not believe Mr Burnham’s claim last month that there will be ‘no election any time soon’, suspecting that he might strike while he is enjoying a bounce in the polls and both the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats are in disarray.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski was humiliated on Thursday when he failed to win the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, and faces mounting pressure on his leadership over anti-Israeli activism. The party’s poll ratings have halved this year, with the lost voters overwhelmingly switching to Labour.
Sir Ed Davey is also battling to save his job as leader of the Lib Dems after one of his MPs, Charlie Maynard, resigned from the front bench on Friday in an apparent attempt to force a contest.
A senior Conservative source said: ‘We think the election will come sooner rather than later, possibly before the end of the year.’
Mrs Badenoch’s strategists were even on alert during Labour conference in case Mr Burnham used his speech to trigger a contest. The party has been holding election meetings since July, and has a draft manifesto and campaign ‘grid’ – detailing the seats Mrs Badenoch will visit and public appearances she will make – in place.
Mrs Badenoch said on Saturday night: ‘We know there’s a battle of ideas coming in British politics and I’ve instructed the Conservative Party to be ready for an election at any point. When that election comes there will be a simple choice between Conservative plans to get Britain working again and a Labour party that keeps putting up taxes, refuses to cut welfare and won’t fund our defence.’
Kemi Badenoch has put the Tory Party on notice for a pre-Christmas general election, amid growing speculation that Andy Burnham will call a snap poll
Green Party leader Zack Polanski was humiliated on Thursday when he failed to win the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, and faces mounting pressure on his leadership over anti-Israeli activism
Mrs Badenoch’s team were buoyed by the response to her speech at the Tory conference in Birmingham, in which she signalled a return to the party’s traditional focus on lower taxes and home ownership – vowing to scrap inheritance tax on main residences as part of a ‘battle for the soul of the nation‘.
Mr Burnham does not have to call an election until 2029, but the Left-wing policies he set out in his conference speech – such as establishing a national care service – would require tax rises ruled out by the 2024 manifesto.
The deteriorating economic situation ahead of this month’s Budget has also highlighted the difficulties involved in balancing the books while Chancellor John Healey has his hands tied on income tax, VAT and National Insurance.
Adjusting the triple lock pension system, reversing Brexit and introducing electoral reform also point to the prime minister seeking his own mandate from voters at the ballot box.
As The Mail on Sunday reveals today, the Tories’ target voter will be ‘Waitrose Woman’. Like shoppers at the high-end supermarket, she is ‘aspirational – not necessarily a millionaire’ – and ‘wants to work hard, get on and pay less tax so she can have more money in her pocket’.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is also preparing for a snap election by appointing a senior figure from the Armed Forces as his defence spokesman – one of several military figures expected to join the party – because the issue of defence funding is likely to be central to the campaign.
In addition, a high-profile expert on health policy is being sought, along with other figures from private industry and the public sector.
Mrs Badenoch does not believe Mr Burnham’s claim last month that there will be ‘no election any time soon’, suspecting that he might strike while he is enjoying a bounce in the polls and both the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats are in disarray
It was reported yesterday that Mr Farage is launching his own eight-page newspaper, The Reformer, which will be distributed to 15 million homes as part of a move to ensure his ‘message is heard by the masses’.
The paper will include features on Reform policies and comment pieces from Mr Farage, who has embarked on a ‘general election tour’ of the country this month, visiting Red Wall areas where Reform hopes to topple Labour.
The latest polling suggests that if an election were to be held now, Labour would win 313 seats – down 99 on their 2024 performance – while the Conservatives would win 123 – up two – and Reform would get 95.
That would leave Labour just short of an overall majority, but could easily form a Government in coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
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