The Tories have called for another general election less than five months after their landslide defeat.

Kemi Badenoch’s spokesman said the party was ready to go back to the polls after she invited Keir Starmer to resign so the Conservatives can take over.

At PMQs on Wednesday, Keir Starmer said the Tories “haven’t got a clue what they’re doing”.

Badenoch replied: “Mr Speaker, if he wants to know what Conservatives would do, he should resign and find out.”

Asked afterwards if the Tory leader really wants the PM to quit, her spokesman said: “Yes, we would love a go to get back in government and sort out the mess [Labour] have made.”

He was then asked if the party wanted another general election and said: “Why not?”

Meanwhile, a petition on the parliament website signed by more than 2.7 million people calling for another election will be debated by MPs.

Petitions which receive at least 100,000 signatures are automatically considered for debate in the Commons.

Lib Dem MP Jamie Stone, who is chair of the public petitions committee, confirmed that the debate will take place on January 6.

Ironically, that will be the fourth anniversary of the coup attempt by Donald Trump supporters, who stormed the Capitol in Washington in an attempt to overturn the result of the 2019 presidential election.

Badenoch referred to the petition at PMQs, but Starmer told her: “We had a massive petition on July 4 in this country.

“We spent years taking our party from a party of protest to a party of government. They’re hurtling in the opposite direction.”