Burnham rules out calling an early general election

Andy Burnham has ruled out an early general election, amid speculation he could call a snap poll.

The new Prime Minister ruled out such a move in his first major broadcast interview since stepping through the door of Downing Street.

Many in Westminster have speculated in recent weeks that Mr Burnham could call an election to provide Labour with a fresh mandate for governing under his leadership.

He has insisted that he will adhere to Labour’s 2024 election manifesto, which included a promise to not raise headline taxes on working people, and has also said he will comply with Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules.

These pledges have given him wriggle room to carry out his own plans for Government, which have included new spending commitments during his first week in the job which are designed to ease cost-of-living pressures.

Mr Burnham’s political opponents have argued he should test public opinion after he took over from Sir Keir Starmer in a bloodless coup.

But he said he would not force voters to go to the polls nationally before 2029 amid speculation he would seek a new mandate.

He told the BBC: “There is no early general election, and the thing I would say to you is 20-plus – how many million people you just mentioned – voted for a manifesto, we’re in a parliamentary democracy so that is what people voted for. And I said to you earlier in this interview that I will honour that manifesto.”

Mr Burnham argued that he “went and faced the public” by winning the Makerfield by-election in June, and had since won the support of his Labour colleagues in Parliament to become Prime Minister.

Pressed again if he would rule out an early election, he said: “I’m going to rule it out. Yeah, there’s no early general election, I don’t think people want it.

“You know, we’ve – well, the opinion polls might say some people do, some people don’t.”

There is no requirement for Mr Burnham to call an early election, as in Britain’s Parliamentary system, the political party with a majority in the House of Commons has the mandate to form a Government.

The Conservatives changed leader twice after Boris Johnson resigned in 2022, with both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak becoming prime minister without going to a public vote.

Gordon Brown faced rampant speculation that he would call an early election when succeeded Sir Tony Blair at Number 10 in 2007.

But he ruled out the prospect, insisting it would not be in the national interest.