Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said she does not fear a Burnham bounce for Labour in the polls and that he will be “walking into the same mess that Keir Starmer couldn’t deal with”.

She told GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope: “No, I am not worried at all, because it doesn’t matter who the leader is, it’s still the same Labour Party, it’s still the same MPs who just want to tax people to pay for more welfare.

“Andy Burnham has not changed any of the people who are in the Labour Party. He’s just walking into the same mess that Keir Starmer couldn’t deal with.”

Asked if she could call for a general election, she said: “Well, the thing is, right now we have got a government with a 160-seat majority. All leaders of the opposition want an election. I’d love an election, but we keep throwing elections at the public without getting anything done.

“He’s got a 160 majority. He should do the right thing now for our troops, for our defence industry, for our armed forces, and that means bringing down the welfare bill and putting that money straight into defence. If you cannot do that, then yes, we should have an election.”

She denied that she did not really want an election: “Not true. We had a wonderful by-election win just last week…when people have a serious choice to make, I know that they will go Conservative, because I’ve changed the party, I’ve changed some of the terrible policies.

“It’s a new party, new leader, but we should have an election when, after Andy Burnham has sorted out this defence problem, if you can’t sort it out, then let’s have an election now. He should come out and say what he’s going to do.”

She reiterated her opposition to a deal with Reform: “Because you can’t trade the voters like football cards. I can’t say, well, Nigel, here you have those, and he says you have this – you can’t treat people like that. It’s disrespectful.

“And I remember people telling me, “Oh, unite the right, stand down in Makerfield and maybe Nigel will do you a favour in Aberdeen. We didn’t stand down, and what we saw was that even if you added up all the parties of the right, Reform still would not have won…because most people don’t like them.

“Yes, some people do like them, but most people don’t. In Aberdeen, Reform didn’t stand down, and we won 50% of the vote. I want to unite the country, not just the right, the country, that’s what matters.

“I’ve said it so many times, no, no, no, no, no, no, and no again, no deal.”