Kemi Badenoch today offered 'any Labour leader' the votes of Conservative MPs to push through welfare cuts in order to boost defence spending.
The Tory leader said she would work 'in the national interest' with whoever is Labour prime minister - whether Keir Starmer or Andy Burnham - to increase investment in the Armed Forces by slashing the country's ballooning benefits bill.
It came as she tore into Sir Keir over the Government's shambolic Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which has been delayed again amid a funding row within Whitehall.
John Healey quit as defence secretary last week as he fumed at Sir Keir for being 'unable' to find the billions of pounds needed to properly fund the DIP, while he claimed Chancellor Rachel Reeves was 'unwilling' to do so.
Mrs Badenoch said Sir Keir should resign if he cannot prove that the long-delayed DIP will 'protect our national security'.
