Britain's most senior civil servant, Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo, has turned down a request from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to hold pre-election access talks with Whitehall officials. Badenoch had asked for the talks to prepare civil servants for her policy plans ahead of a possible snap general election, which she believes Prime Minister Andy Burnham may call sooner than expected. The refusal matters because such talks typically help opposition parties ready themselves for a potential change of government, and their denial signals that Downing Street sees no imminent election on the horizon.

Romeo reportedly told the Conservatives that access talks can only be sanctioned by the Prime Minister himself, and since Burnham insists no election is planned, the request was refused. Badenoch's letter had cited plans including leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, cutting benefits, increasing defence spending and abolishing stamp duty. Access talks conventionally occur 12-16 months before a parliament's end, but Burnham, speaking in Ukraine, ruled out an early poll, saying he wants to focus on building economic confidence through the autumn Budget rather than "party-political interest".