Badenoch warns Tories must still be on high alert for snap election as Burnham holds Cabinet 'away day' at Chequers residence

Published: 09:10 BST, 5 October 2026 | Updated: 09:12 BST, 5 October 2026

Kemi Badenoch has warned that Tories must still be 'ready' for a snap election as Andy Burnham gathers his Cabinet for an 'away day'. 

The PM has summoned ministers to his little-used Chequers residence for intensive talks on his 10-year plan. That is due to be unveiled in a big speech later in the year. 

Mr Burnham has repeatedly denied that he is intending to pull the trigger on an election, despite a Labour poll bounce following the exit of Keir Starmer.

However, Conservatives have been pointing to his conference speech last week, in which he announced a series of policies that would only happen in a new Parliament. 

At a reception at her own party gathering in Birmingham last night, Mrs Badenoch said the Tories had 'managed to surprise ourselves' with the timing of the last general election.

'We're not doing that again. I want you all to know that I am getting ready for a general election,' she said.

Andy Burnham has summoned ministers to his little-used Chequers residence for intensive talks on his 10-year plan

Kemi Badenoch has warned that Tories must still be 'ready' for a snap election

An ally of Mrs Badenoch told the Mail they had thought there was a 50-50 chance of Mr Burnham announcing a snap election in his conference speech.

But other senior Tories are less convinced about the prospect, with one frontbencher saying there is 'no f***ing chance' of a ballot soon. 

Going for an election before 2029, the legal deadline for holding one, would be a huge gamble for Mr Burnham. 

The latest Opinium research yesterday showed Labour support up two points to 30 per cent, the highest level the firm has detected since 2024.

Reform were five points behind, despite Nigel Farage's outfit gaining a point to reach 25 per cent, while the Tories were languishing on 17 per cent.

The figures could be enough to give Mr Burnham a small majority should he go for an early ballot.

Electoral Calculus projections suggest that with that voting split Labour might get 342 seats, with Reform on 155 and the Conservatives on just 55. 

However, the volatility in constituencies means that the outcome would be extremely difficult to predict.

Although the Opinium findings were bleak for the Conservatives, they have been seeing better polling numbers with other firms.

The latest survey found Mr Burnham's personal rating was up one point to a net positive of eight.

Mrs Badenoch was on minus one, while Mr Farage's score was a long way back on minus 22.