Irony has been laid to rest after Kemi Badenoch called for a general election if Keir Starmer is removed as Labour leader.
For weeks there have been reports that potential challenges to Starmer’s leadership are being prepared, with rumours that disastrous results in Thursday’s elections could be the catalyst.
Unsurprisingly, the likes of the Conservatives and Reform are desperate for a general election and the opportunity to take advantage of Labour’s unpopularity at the moment.
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Speaking to the Telegraph this week, Conservative Party leader Badenoch said that a general election should be called if Starmer is ousted as PM because his replacement would not have a mandate to govern.
She told the publication: “I think the public should have their chance to have a say on what it is they want.”
It seems that Badenoch has suffered a typical bout of Tory memory loss about their time in power though.
It was of course her party who inflicted Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak’s premierships on the nation, neither of which decided to call an election once they became leader.
Before this, Boris Johnson waited six months after becoming Tory leader before he called an election.
Going even further back, it took almost a year for Theresa May to call a general election after she replaced David Cameron following his Brexit-induced resignation.
Many were quick to remind Badenoch of this and that perhaps preaching about prime ministers not having mandates wasn’t wise.
There is of course no requirement for a government to call a general election after a leadership change.
The Tories resisted these calls when they were in power and cycling through leaders, and any new Labour leader would almost certainly do the same, given the party still hold a massive majority in the Commons.