Britain's top civil servant snubs Kemi Badenoch's demand to hold access talks with Whitehall ahead of a potential snap general election
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By CHRISTIAN CALGIE, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE
Published: | Updated:
Britain's top civil servant has rejected Kemi Badenoch's request to hold pre-election access talks with Whitehall.
This weekend, the Mail on Sunday revealed that the Tory leader had written to Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo, requesting the talks to ensure civil servants are across her radical plans for change before any potential snap poll.
Ms Badenoch argued that she now believes Mr Burnham will call an election sooner rather than later.
She said civil servants must be ready to implement her policies, including quitting the European Convention on Human Rights, slashing benefits, hiking defence spending, and scrapping stamp duty.
But on Wednesday Ms Romeo rejected her request, insisting that Mr Burnham has no intention of going to the country any time soon.
A senior Conservative Party source said that the Cabinet Secretary had set out that pre-election talks can only be approved by Mr Burnham himself, but because he says there is no election planned, the request would be denied.
Access talks traditionally take place about 12-16 months prior to the end of a parliament, and are used to help the civil service and opposition parties prepare for a possible change of government.
Antonia Romeo (right) has rejected Kemi Badenoch's request for access talks with civil servants
Kemi Badenoch believes Andy Burnham will now go for a snap election sooner rather than later
Access talks can only be granted by the Prime Minister, who continues to insist he will not call a snap general election
Speaking in Ukraine last week, Mr Burnham insisted that an early election is not 'what people are looking for right now'.
Asked by ITV News why he wouldn't capitalise on Labour's recent rise in the polls to overtake Reform UK, Mr Burnham said: 'I will tell you why not - because I am focused on the needs of the country and not party-political interest. I am not going to call an election.
'I said outside Downing Street that I would do politics differently, that I would try to bring people together and focus on problem solving rather than point scoring.
'I am ruling it out right in front of you. I am going to try my best as we go through the Autumn to bring people together, to get some confidence going.
'We have had some early signs that there is more confidence in the economy. I want to build that confidence through the budget, working with the Chancellor.
'That is what I think we should be doing in the best interests of Britain.'
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