Andy Burnham faced growing calls on Monday to hold an early general election, as he prepares to enter Downing Street as Britain’s new prime minister without ever having led his party into a national vote.
Burnham became Labour leader unopposed last week and took his seat in the Commons only last month, after winning the Makerfield by-election. Critics argue that gives him one of the weakest personal mandates of any incoming prime minister in modern times, and pressure is building on him to put his programme to voters before pressing ahead with it.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, renewed his demand for an immediate vote, saying Burnham should “let us decide the future of our country.” Farage has repeatedly noted that Burnham will be Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, and has accused him of reversing positions during the by-election campaign and avoiding scrutiny of his policy plans since declaring his leadership ambitions.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative Party chairman, struck a similar note, saying voters should get “their say at a general election” if Burnham could not resist pressure from the Labour Left on tax and spending.
Mr Hollinrake said: “Andy Burnham enters Downing Street today as a prime minister nobody voted for and his first test will be finding the money to properly fund our nation’s defence.
“The Conservatives have been clear. We will work with the Government to reform welfare and free up the resources our Armed Forces urgently need.
“But if Andy Burnham cannot face down the high-tax, high-welfare Labour MPs pulling his strings, he should do the decent thing and let the British people have their say at a general election.”
A Survation poll published by the Mail found 51 per cent of the public want Burnham to seek a fresh mandate, with the strongest opposition to his rise concentrated in southern England, where two in five voters outside London called it illegitimate.
Despite the pressure, Burnham has so far ruled out a snap election, and a spokesman reiterated that position last month. He has pledged to stick to Labour’s 2024 manifesto, including its commitments not to raise VAT, National Insurance or income tax rates, while also signalling he wants to move the party away from what he has called four decades of economic orthodoxy inherited from both Conservative and New Labour governments.
His plans reportedly include establishing a “No 10 North” office in Manchester to advance regional devolution, bringing water companies back under public ownership, and fully funding a £15 billion increase in defence spending. Allies have suggested he may look at other revenue-raising measures, including a possible rise in capital gains tax, as well as changes to pension policy such as the state pension triple lock, which is not covered by the current manifesto.
A close ally of Burnham’s, defended his path to power arguing that Labour MPs had “acted in response to what the public have told us” in replacing Keir Starmer, and that Burnham had already set out his plans for the economy, transport and housing in a series of speeches.
The debate over Burnham’s mandate echoes arguments he himself made in 2022, when he called for a general election after Rishi Sunak became Conservative leader without a public vote. Lord Case, the former Cabinet secretary, warned last month that Burnham risked following his five predecessors out of Downing Street early if he made promises to voters that could not be reconciled with the country’s fiscal constraints.
Burnham’s rise comes as Reform UK’s poll lead over Labour has narrowed in recent weeks, adding to pressure on him either to capitalise on the shift by going to the country, or to consolidate his position in government before facing voters.
