Burnham urges Labour to "re-arm" as Conservatives recover under Badenoch
Andy Burnham has instructed the Labour Party to "re-arm" to fight the Conservatives at the next election, amid concern about a possible recovery under Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader. The Guardian reported the move on 13 November 2026.
Downing Street sources said the prime minister wanted Labour's headquarters to refocus on the Conservatives as an electoral threat. For more than two years, according to those sources, the party had prioritised Nigel Farage's Reform and the Greens, which are both rivals for votes.
The Conservatives won 24% of the vote at the last general election, before their support fell to 18%. Last week, the polling company More in Common put Conservative support at 25%, the first time in 18 months it had exceeded its vote share at the time of its record election defeat.
A senior Downing Street figure said Burnham did not want officials to take their eyes off Reform, which has dipped in the polls amid scrutiny of its party finances. He did feel, however, that they should plan for a potential Tory resurgence.
An insider at Downing Street told the Guardian that Badenoch is running a strategy aimed at her party's base, with policies targeting higher earners, mostly in the south of England.
Several ministers hold seats that face the Conservatives. They include Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, Chief Secretary Emma Reynolds and Europe minister Hamish Falconer. Labour MPs across Hertfordshire, Kent and parts of London, including Finchley and Harrow, could also be at risk from a Conservative recovery.
Labour is understood to be preparing to put more resources into taking on the Conservatives from January, ahead of the next May elections. A group of London MPs have personally urged Burnham to refocus on Badenoch's party, which in some polls has overtaken Reform to move into second place.
One tactic under discussion inside Labour is talking up the prospect of a pact between the Conservatives and Reform, meaning a formal agreement between the two parties. More in Common also found that a third of people who said Badenoch was doing a good job still said they would not vote Conservative.
