Kemi Badenoch is set to launch a scathing attack on Westminster, accusing it of descending into “pantomime” at a time when “Britain needs seriousness” regarding the future of its armed forces.
In a speech on Tuesday, the Tory leader will claim Sir Keir Starmer, attending his final Nato summit as Prime Minister, is a “powerless” leader whose defence investment plan (Dip) is “not fit for purpose”.
Mrs Badenoch is also expected to challenge the national security priorities of Andy Burnham, who she describes as the “prime minister-in-waiting” and Sir Keir’s replacement, poised to enter No 10 as soon as July 20.
She is expected to say: “Just at a time when Britain needs seriousness, Westminster has never been more of a pantomime.
“We are sending an outgoing Prime Minister who is now completely powerless to that Nato summit.
“And he is taking with him a defence investment plan which he knows is not fit for purpose.”
With the Treasury yet to set out funding for £4.7 billion of the £15 billion uplift announced last week, Mrs Badenoch will punch a Labour bruise over the so-called “black hole” in the Dip.
“Labour haven’t realised that the problems with that defence investment plan have not gone away just because Andy Burnham is riding to the rescue,” she will say.
“Yet Burnham doesn’t appear to have said anything about the threats we face.
“Does he not care that on Sunday a Russian jet was intercepted by the RAF dropping sonar devices on to British aircraft carrier?
“Or that our undersea cables are already under constant attack and a Russian assault on them could knock out internet across the country?
“Defence of this country should be Andy Burnham’s number one priority. In fact, he says he wants to spend less time on foreign affairs.”
Mr Burnham has suggested he “wasn’t in all of the discussions” about the financial details of the Dip but promised he would “take my responsibilities fully to fund the defence investment plan” if he became leader.
“No compromise on the security of the nation,” he told LBC last week.
Mrs Badenoch will also attack Reform UK, claiming the party thinks “immigration is the only national security issue worth worrying about” and is mired in scandal amid scrutiny of Nigel Farage’s finances.
The Reform leader has said he has “done no wrongdoing” after it emerged he had received support from long-term associate George Cottrell, which included funding for staffing, security and the use of a London townhouse
“They haven’t even bothered to appoint a foreign or defence spokesman,” she will say.
“Their former Welsh leader is in jail for taking bribes from Russia. They are completely distracted by their constant scandals.”
In a swipe at Mr Burnham’s speech last week in which he set out broad plans for greater devolution and public control of essential services, she is expected to add: “(Russian President Vladimir) Putin doesn’t care how nationalised your buses are, and they don’t care whether No 10 is in Manchester or London.
“All he cares about is whether Britain is able to defend herself or not.”
On Monday, Mrs Badenoch accused Mr Burnham of having a “summer holiday” before entering No 10 after criticising his limited exposure to media scrutiny after the Prime Minister’s resignation.
Sir Keir’s likely successor refused to take questions from journalists after his speech last week and has since given one interview to LBC and done an online Q&A on Reddit.
Among users taking part in the Reddit question session was Mrs Badenoch, who asked whether he was willing to face a proper press conference and “submit yourself to scrutiny”.
The newly elected Makerfield MP responded: “Fair challenge, Kemi – but don’t forget it’s only two weeks since I faced questions from 74,000 members of the public in Makerfield!”
Mrs Badenoch suggested she was the “only person who’s actually turning up to work right now” while she spoke at a Politics UK event on Monday.
“What I’m trying to show is that while Andy Burnham is having his summer holiday, Keir Starmer is walking off into the sunset, Nigel Farage is dealing with the latest scandal… I’m coming up with an entire plan for government,” she said.
But reflecting on the Conservative record in office, she said her party “took our eyes off the ball” on immigration and was “very sorry”.
“You look at what happened, we just took our eyes off the ball. That is my understanding. I wasn’t in the Home Office,” Mrs Badenoch, who was business secretary in the previous Tory government, said.
“The numbers didn’t come out until a year later, and as soon as we discovered that, we started fixing it.”
She added: “We are very sorry. We’ve acknowledged that mistakes have been made, and we have the toughest immigration policy that’s out there now.
“We’re leaving the ECHR, and there is a full plan to support that, and anybody who does not sign up to that plan cannot be a Conservative MP.”
