Andy Burnham suffers setback as angry voters demand a general election | Politics | News
Pressure is mounting on Andy Burnham to call a snap general election if he replaces Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister on July 20, as expected. New polls reveal Britons’ unhappiness at the prospect of the former Mayor of Manchester rising untested to 10th place in the Labor leadership contest. Research by retired Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft found voters believed there should be a proper leadership battle followed by an early general election.
Nominations for the Labor leadership officially open on Thursday and close on July 15, but Mr Burnham is expected to enter 10th place without facing any challengers. Ordinary voters were left unimpressed by the prospect of Mr Burnham, who was MP in last month’s Makerfield by-election, coming to power without putting forward his plans in a formal contest. Only 27 per cent of Britons support Mr Burnham becoming Prime Minister in this way; 50 percent want one or more candidates to run, while 23 percent are undecided.
Those who voted Labor at the last general election were most likely to support the coronation (45%), while only 11% of Reform UK voters support it.
Almost six in 10 Britons (59%) want a general election at least “sometime next year”. This includes 70% of Reform voters and 62% of voters who support the Conservatives in 2024 and want an election “as soon as possible” because “the Prime Minister must have the consent of the voters”.
A Reformation spokesman said: “Polls clearly show the British people want a general election – and so do we. Reformation The UK is election-ready and ready to create radical change. Britain is broken and only Reformation can fix it.”
But Conservative peer and election expert Robert Hayward was skeptical that Mr Burnham would send the country to the polls early because many Labor MPs would fear losing their seats.
He said: “Pressure from within the Labor Party in parliament will be quite adverse.”
Lord Hayward thinks coronations are a “bad idea” for both parties and the country because candidates are not tested, but he does not think Mr Burnham will face an opponent.
Lord Ashcroft’s poll shows most of the country is ready for a shift to the left; 41 per cent think the Makerfield MP is more Left-wing than Sir Keir, while just 3 per cent think he is more Right-wing.
There is only modest optimism about Burnham’s premiership. Just 22% think he will do a better job than Sir Keir, while 13% expect him to do worse.
The survey also reveals the influence of Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain. 38 per cent of Britons said they “didn’t like what they represent” and would “definitely not vote for them”, while 11 per cent said they “liked most of what they represented” and “might vote for them next time”.
Mr Burnham hopes his arrival as party leader and Prime Minister will give Labor a much-needed boost. When voters were asked who would make the best prime minister, 38 per cent chose Mr Burnham, 20 per cent chose the Conservatives’ Kemi Badenoch and 17 per cent chose Reform’s Nigel Farage.
This comes as YouGov’s latest poll puts Reform Britain in first place with 25% (+1), ahead of the Conservatives on 21% (+1), Labor on 20%, the Greens on 13% (no change), the Liberal Democrats on 12% (-1) and Restore Britain on 3% (no change).
