Andy Burnham could call general election as early as May, claims Kemi Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch has claimed Andy Burnham could call a general election by next May, despite the prime minister trying to “knock dead” the idea of an early contest.

The Conservative Party leader has questioned why Mr Burnham unveiled a series of pledges in his Labour Party conference speech that would not come into place until after the next election.

She said the announcements suggested the prime minister would be calling an early election, pointing to May 2027 as a potential date.

Asked about Tory losses in this May’s local elections, she told BBC Southeast: “What we are going to see is the Conservative Party coming back. We are still dealing with the aftereffects of having been 14 years in government. My job is to fix this, and that’s what I’m doing.”

She added: “This is an era of political volatility and multi-party politics. When an election is called, and I do think Andy Burnham is going to call an election sooner than he is saying.”

Mr Burnham ruled out plunging the country into an early general election in a series of interviews ahead of his party’s conference.

The prime minister said he wants to “draw a line” and focus on helping the public feel “a bit of hope in their lives”, rather than begin another divisive electoral cycle.

“All of this speculation on an early election, I can knock that dead.”

However, ahead of her own party conference, Mrs Badenoch said: “We could be having a general election next May.”

She added: “All the policies he announced are for after an election. So if he’s not calling an election, why is he talking about things happening in 2030?

“He says a lot of things with a smile, but I actually think that he’s got very different plans for us and for our country.”

Several media reports in recent weeks have suggested close advisers to the prime minister are weighing up the prospect of an election as early as next year, following polling which said Labour would remain the largest party – though short of a parliamentary majority – if a snap election were called.

But asked if the next election would be in 2029, the prime minister told ITV Calendar: “Yes, that’s when the next election will be.

A tearful Mr Burnham delivered an extraordinary first Labour conference speech as prime minister on Tuesday, vowing to deliver a “new Britain” with plans to scrap the pensions triple lock, build a new social care service and overhaul the voting system.

He also announced he would take a fresh look at Brexit, hinting that rejoining the bloc could be on the agenda, as previously revealed by The Independent.

The prime minister later told ITV News that securing closer ties to the EU “isn’t about leaping to a referendum”, but he said, if public opinion was “pointing towards” backing re-entry, he could commit to holding a vote on the issue in the next manifesto.

He also declined to rule out skipping a referendum and fighting the next general election on a promise to rejoin.

Before entering Downing Street, Mr Burnham had said he wanted to see the UK back in the EU within his lifetime.

Asked on Sky News whether he stood by that, he said: “I said in my lifetime and I’ve said that I’m not going to pull back from that.”