Andy Burnham could call a snap general as soon as December, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has predicted.

The Conservative leader said Andy Burnham was a ‘gambler’ who could call a risky vote this year that would give him a fresh mandate to govern if he won. 

She is the latest figure to suggest an election is not far away as speculation mounts that the PM could go to the country well ahead of the 2029 deadline.

Speaking to LBC Mrs Badenoch said:  I think he might fancy his chances, but we fancy ours as well.’

She added: I’ve said that if he cannot fund defence, which he needs to fund by cutting welfare, then he should call an election. That’s why John Healey resigned. He said the money that was going into defence was not enough.’ 

But an early election would be risky for Mr Burnham – and for the Tories –  according to a new poll out today. 

A YouGov MRP analysis for the Times suggests that an election now would result in a  hung parliament. 

While Labour would have the most MPs, it would be short of a majority unless Mr Burnham could put together an unlikely ‘rainbow coalition’ with the Liberal Democrats, Greens and the Scottish National Party.

The poll also shows Reform would be the third largest party, having been the largest party in a similar poll last year.

The Conservative leader said Andy Burnham was a ‘gambler’ who could call a risky vote this year that would give him a fresh mandate to govern if he won

While Labour would have the most MPs, it would be short of a majority unless Mr Burnham could put together a ‘rainbow coalition’ with the Liberal Democrats, Greens and the Scottish National Party

Mrs Badenoch raised the prospect of an early election forcing a second within months.

Ruling out a Tory coalition with either Reform or the Lib Dems she said: ‘It’s been done before, 1974. We had two elections. We had two elections in one year. 

‘But what I saw with the coalition 2010 to 2015 was actually us not being able to deliver many of the things that we promised people because we made concessions to the Lib Dems and nobody thanked us for it later. 

‘We need to be able to deliver what we promise to the public, and I am very keen to show that you can actually go into politics, say you’re going to do something, and deliver it. 

‘Right now, in this era of multi-party politics and concessions and deals behind closed doors, I just think that the public don’t know what they’re going to get. 

‘If you want Conservative policies, then please vote Conservative. Gaining it in any other way is just going to create chaos.’

Opposition to Reform gaining power appears to be hardening in the UK, with voters increasingly willing to try to block Nigel Farage from entering No10. 

New analysis of tactical voting suggests the public are growing more likely to consider a ‘stop Reform’ candidate in their area, especially if they are Labour or Conservative.

YouGov data last night showed that if a seat was a toss-up between Labour and Reform, Labour would win 41 per cent of the vote to Reform’s 26 per cent, with the gap widening by 11 points since February.

The numbers show that Green and Lib Dem voters would be most willing to lend their support to Mr Burnham’s candidate, with Tory voters twice as likely to back Reform.

Additionally, the data from 6,077 people suggests Reform loses in head-to-head battles with the Conservatives by a similar 15-point margin, 35 per cent to 20 per cent, with the gap widening by eight points in seven months.

Mr Farage’s party also loses a head-to-head against the Lib Dems by an increased margin, and against the Greens, despite Zack Polanski’s party also suffering a drop in popularity.

It comes after Mr Burnham replaced Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister and follows a raft of controversies surrounding Reform and its finances, including record-breaking donations totalling £72million from two crypto-billionaires.