Former Tory leadership candidate Penny Mordaunt is ready to stage a dramatic comeback to frontline politics.

The ex-Defence Secretary said she would “love to come back to Parliament” as she gave a scathing assessment of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s stewardship of the economy.

Ms Mordaunt fears Britain will see “very large numbers of job losses” as a result of Ms Reeves’s decision to hike up the National Insurance contributions paid by employers.

She described Labour’s record in power in the seven months she narrowly lost her Portsmouth North seat as “very painful to watch”.

When asked whether she will seek to return to the Commons in a by-election or aim to stand in the next general election, she said: “I’ve been in this business long enough to know that a large chunk of it is luck and timing. Look, I’m ready for all eventualities but my main focus is where I am now – what can I do to help my country do well?”

In a wide-ranging interview with the Sunday Express she said it is “heartbreaking to watch” the Government place obstacles in the path of businesses whose leaders want to generate growth and said she is “really, really angry”.

Ms Mordaunt finished in the final three in the 2022 race to succeed Boris Johnson that was won by Liz Truss. If she succeeds in winning a seat she will be one of the highest-profile Conservatives in the Commons.

She pledged her support to party leader Kemi Badenoch, saying: “I think it’s right she’s focused on a broad range of issues and I will do whatever I can to support her and the party.”

Ms Mordaunt wants to see major reform of how services are delivered.

“I think people want to be proud of Westminster,” she said. “They want to be proud of Whitehall.

“They want to be proud of their local council. But what we have to recognise is there is a gulf between what is being delivered and people’s hopes and expectations.

“We really do have to wake up as a nation.”

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She is also adamant that Britain must spend more on defence, saying: “Our foes are continually inventing new ways to do us harm.”

Ms Mordaunt chairs the board of maritime technology company SubSea Craft and regularly travels throughout the UK.

She said: “Every day I meet people who are buzzing with ideas…. And we’ve really got to unleash that potential.

“We’ve got to support those people and give them what they need to realise their ambitions.”

Stating her desire to return to politics, she said: “I would obviously love to come back to Parliament but I shall try and make myself useful in the meantime.”