Kemi Badenoch has promised to "face down" Andy Burnham over Labour's socialist lurch and said the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, which begins on Sunday, will be "aspirational".
The Tory leader made the comments in an interview with the Daily Express just 24 hours after Mr Burnham delivered a left-wing speech to activists, which she said had dragged his party back to old-school Labour.
Badenoch warns Burnham's plans are dangerous
She warned that Mr Burnham's vision is dangerous for Britain on a number of fronts, not least because he wants to take the UK back into the EU. She also criticised his threats to tear up the voting system and bring in mass nationalisation.
While sympathetic to Mr Burnham's emotional address following the death of his father, she said his failure to help people with the problems that are stacking up now left her flabbergasted.
Conference promises and tax hints
Last year, she set out plans to axe stamp duty. Asked whether this year's big announcement could involve inheritance tax, she said: "You'll have to wait and see," smiling.
She also faces a battle for the Right of British politics with Nigel Farage's Reform UK, a challenge she appears to be relishing.
