Kemi Badenoch, leader of the British Conservatives (aka Tories), is sensing blood in the water after a sad showing for Labor’s selected prime minister replacement, whom she’s masterfully disemboweled during PMQs in Parliament and in the British press.
This was her latest for the Telegraph.
Burnham has no idea what he’s doing… and it’s starting to show
OOF
Andy Burnham became Prime Minister on July 20, almost 10 weeks ago. Yet he’s only actually done the job of Prime Minister for two weeks. The two weeks when he was in Parliament, actually governing the country, facing me in the House of Commons and being properly scrutinised by MPs.
In those two weeks, he nodded towards another Scottish independence vote, committed to massive spending increases his office later backed out of, and was finally honest that he believes spending on benefits is more important than spending on defence.
They were a bad two weeks.
The rest of the time, Burnham and his Government have been strangely absent.
Important decisions have been deferred, ministers have been barely visible. “Wait for Labour conference,” we’re told. “Wait for the Budget.” Wait… to discover what this Government actually believes.
The truth is, as I warned when he was whisked into 10 Downing Street a few weeks after winning a by-election, Andy Burnham has no idea what he’s doing.
Another sign of weakness she hopes to exploit with bold action is a sudden softening in Reform support, with all the foreign ‘donation’ kerfuffles dogging Nigel Farage.
🚨 NEW: Labour responds to the alleged secret donations to Reform UK uncovered by Channel 4 and Verbatim
“This scandal goes right to the top of Reform UK. Nigel Farage needs to urgently prove today that his top team haven’t broken the law and secretly plotted to undermine our…
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) September 3, 2026
“This scandal goes right to the top of Reform UK. Nigel Farage needs to urgently prove today that his top team haven’t broken the law and secretly plotted to undermine our democracy. It’s not just Farage’s secret £5 million “gift”. Time and again he and his mates think the rules don’t apply to them. The sleaze and scandal now engulfing him and his Party isn’t going away – it’s getting worse”
Right at this moment, the Reform party is a huge wet, sloppy mess. It didn’t help when, on top of not explaining why it got busted in these undercover videos, Reform turned around and found itself with two massive donations totaling £72 million.
Like, holy CRAP!
📽️ ‘THE MOST DISHONEST, ANTIDEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT IN HISTORY’
Nigel Farage hits back at the review into political donations after Reform UK received £72 MILLION
This is political interference#NigelFarage #GBNews #PoliticalDonations pic.twitter.com/YYvwRtNEfd
— The Reform Daily (@ReformDaily_) September 22, 2026
Money falls out of literal trees for these guys, and of course people are watching with a jaundiced eye, especially those who may have been big fans for a while.
All the bluster in the world won’t get the bad taste out of people’s mouths as they see all this go down, repeatedly. It’s so stupidly amateurish.
So a cagey Kemi Badenoch is watching the auguries and thinking that Labour might just call a general election while there are still enough people willing to vote for them who’d give them a majority.
Thanks to the other two contestants imploding themselves, she sees an opening the Tories haven’t had in some time.
BREAKING:
Reform UK would win less seats than both Labour and the Conservatives if a general election were to be held today in a dramatic reversal of fortunes for Nigel Farage’s party, a YouGov MRP has found
The new large-scale seat by seat MRP by YouGov suggests the UK is… pic.twitter.com/sPxTf6O8wa
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) September 24, 2026
…heading for a hung Parliament with Labour as the largest party with 241 seats
The Conservatives would be in second place with 130 seats, better than their result in the 2024 general election, while Reform would be pushed into third place with 123 seats
If replicated at the next election the poll suggests that both Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman, who deserted the Tories to join Farage, would lose their seats to their old party
Even if Reform and the Tories could agree a pact they would still not have enough seats to form a majority coalition government
However Labour would also struggle to govern having lost 162 of the 403 seats that it holds at present
It would have to rely on both the Liberal Democrats, predicted to win 71 seats, and the Greens, on nine, or one of the nationalist parties in order to command a majority in the Commons
It marks a stark reversal of Reform’s fortunes compared to a YouGov MRP a year ago:…
This is where a leader has plans ready for a British public hungry for real action.
Hey, tell you what – a lot of this sounds awfully familiar.
Can’t imagine where she got it from, but it should be sweet music to a country staggering under the weight of its welfare state.
Kemi’s ruthless crackdown on Benefits Street: Tory leader says those who have not worked long enough will see handouts cut 30% and they will be barred from spending the rest on booze, cigarettes and betting
Kemi Badenoch on Wednesday night launched plans for a tough crackdown on Britain’s ballooning benefits bill.
The jobless who have paid little in taxes will see their handouts docked and be banned from spending them on vices such as drinking, smoking or gambling if the Tories return to power.
Under the proposals, targeting those who can work but choose not to, the long-term unemployed who have not contributed enough to the system would see their Universal Credit payments cut by 30 per cent.
And instead of receiving the reduced welfare support in cash, claimants would be given money on a ‘Back To Work’ card that could not be used to buy alcohol or cigarettes, withdraw cash or gamble.
More than 300,000 people would be moved on to the lower ‘Subsistence Allowance’, saving taxpayers half a billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, it is claimed.
On Wednesday night, Mrs Badenoch said: ‘If you can work, you should work. Helping people into work is not punishment.
‘The best welfare is a well-paid job. So, we will be tough on those who exploit the system because the current system is unfair to workers, taxpayers and those who truly need support.
‘Welfare must be a safety net for those who genuinely need it, not a lifestyle choice for those who can’t be bothered.’
This is a radical shift in attitude.
IF YOU CAN WORK, YOU SHOULD WORK
…Badenoch said Britain should “not be borrowing from our children and grandchildren to support people who simply refuse to work. Some will say this is unfair on people claiming benefits. What is unfair is a system where someone who can work chooses not to and earns more from benefits than someone in a job.”
She added: “If you can work, you should work. Helping people into work is not punishment. The best welfare is a well-paid job. So, we will be tough on those who exploit the system because the current system is unfair to workers, taxpayers and those who truly need support. Welfare must be a safety net for those who genuinely need it, not a lifestyle choice for those who can’t be bothered.”
And the Tory plan has built-in protections for people who have spent their whole lives employed and suddenly find themselves jobless.
…The Conservative policy is designed so that lifelong workers who have paid into the system will not drop down to the lower rate. For example, a 58-year-old who had worked since 18 would be eligible for full-rate benefits up to state pension age. However, a 30-year-old who had worked only one year since turning 18 would receive the lower rate after six months.
But no more booze, butts, and bets on the government…well, taxpayers’ dime.
…Under Tory plans, the long-term unemployed would have their benefits cut by a third. Cash handouts would be replaced with pre-paid “back-to-work cards” that would block spending on items, including alcohol, cigarettes and scratch cards.
The policy mirrors measures in the United States, where benefits claimants receive pre-paid cards rather than cash.
It’s amazing what passes for ‘radical’ these days, but I bet this is going to be a popular position with a lot of voters.
If Burnham is forced to call an election, it’s shaping up to be a barnburner.
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