There were more signs of a Tory revival today as a poll showed them closing in on Labour.
Kemi Badenoch's party is on 24 per cent support in the latest YouGov research – up two points in a week.
That was only two points behind Labour on 26 per cent, with no sign that the Budget delivered any bounce for Andy Burnham. Meanwhile Reform was lagging behind on 21 per cent.
The figures are the highest for the Conservatives since the election, which put Keir Starmer into No10 with a huge majority.
They will encourage party strategists who believe that the leader's well-received performances and bold pledges on cutting tax and welfare are starting to turn the tide.
Tories are hoping that nudging ahead of rivals Reform can create a feedback loop and re-establish them as the main challengers to Labour.
Kemi Badenoch's party was on 24 per cent support in the latest YouGov research - up two points in a week
Tories are hoping that nudging ahead of rivals Reform can create a feedback loop and reestablish them as the main challengers to Labour
That was just behind Labour on 26 per cent, with no sign that the Budget delivered any bounce for Andy Burnham
Reform was up one point on the week, but only from the lowest support YouGov had recorded for the party since 2024.
If repeated at a general election the numbers would almost certainly produce a hung Parliament, with Labour potentially propped up in power by the Lib Dems.
Westminster has been in the grip of fevered snap election speculation, despite the PM flatly denying there will be a ballot next year.
The rumours have been given extra impetus by John Healey pushing back key decisions in the Budget last week.
A spending review due in the second half of next year will need to spell out a path for defence budgets hitting 3 per cent of GDP by 2030.
The Chancellor has also acknowledged there will have to be difficult choices on departmental spending, with think-tanks flagging that current plans seem to entail huge real-terms cuts in the coming years.
Asked in an interview last week when the next election will be, Mr Burnham said: 'I said yesterday, no election in 2027. I said that really, really plainly yesterday.
'I'll say it again today to you and the reason I say that is because I am not coming into this job full of political calculation in terms of "what do I need to do for how it benefits me or the party?".
'I come into the job genuinely feeling that the country needs a really clear change in terms of the way politics has been done because we're in a messy position.'
However, the remarks did appear to be a shift in Mr Burnham's position, as he previously stated that there would not be an election until 2029.