Politics · United Kingdom · 7 hrs ago
Burnham urges Labour to prepare for a Conservative recovery
Andy Burnham has urged Labour to prepare for a Conservative comeback at the next UK general election.
The Conservatives’ support rose to 25% in a recent poll, up from 18% after the party’s 2024 election defeat.
Kemi Badenoch’s party has gained ground as she focuses more on economic concerns and less on cultural issues.
Labour is concerned that seats in parts of England could be at risk, including in Hertfordshire, Kent and London.
One idea under discussion is to highlight the possibility of a Conservative-Reform pact to influence voters worried about Nigel Farage’s party gaining power.
Labour plans to devote more resources to challenging the Conservatives from January, ahead of elections in May.
Andy Burnham has urged Labour to prepare for a possible Conservative recovery before the next general election.
Downing Street sources say Labour should keep focusing on Reform while treating the Conservatives as an electoral threat.
A More in Common poll put Conservative support at 25% last week, up from 18% after the party’s record election defeat.
Labour is understood to be preparing to devote more resources to challenging the Conservatives from January, ahead of May elections.
- Who
- Andy Burnham and the Labour party. Downing Street sources say Labour should prepare for a possible Conservative recovery.
- What
- Burnham has urged Labour to “rearm” for a contest with the Conservatives.
- When
- The report was published on 13 November 2026. Labour is understood to be planning to devote more resources to the effort from January.
- Where
- The United Kingdom.
- Why
- Downing Street sources say Conservative support could recover before the next election, so Labour should not be complacent.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Conservatives received 24% of the vote.
Conservative support dipped to 18%.
A More in Common poll put Conservative support at 25%, the first time in 18 months it had exceeded its vote share at the record election defeat.
Labour is understood to be preparing to devote more resources to challenging the Conservatives.
The elections are expected to be a test of whether the Conservatives have recovered, according to a Labour source.
- Conservative vote at last general election
- 24%
- Conservative support after the election
- 18%
- Conservative support last week
- 25%, according to More in Common
- Planned increase in Labour resources
- From January
- Labour figures with Tory-facing seats
- Heidi Alexander, Emma Reynolds and Hamish Falconer
What people are saying
Just because the Tories are trailing in the polls now, their trajectory is upwards and they could bounce back ahead of the election.
We need to be ready for that. We need to rearm.
It’s time to wake up about it, frankly.