Andy Burnham has said he is ‘ruling out’ the possibility of an early general election , arguing it is not what people want.
Since becoming prime minister earlier this month, there seems to be a swell of momentum behind Burnham and Labour.
Having made a number of major and largely welcomed announcements, such as £2 bus fare cap and the scrapping of VAT on electricity bills, Burnham has wasted no time since moving into Number 10.
At the same time, Labour have seen a surge in support in the polls, whilst Reform have stalled as controversy continues to swirl around them and their leader Nigel Farage.
All of this combined has had some people thinking that Burnham could be tempted to call an early general election at some point next year, to make the most of the wave of goodwill behind him and a moment of potential weakness for Reform.
This would also end all the questions towards Burnham about whether or not he has a mandate to govern.
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But it seems Burnham has no desire to send the country back to the polls.
Speaking to the BBC in his first full interview since becoming prime minister, Burnham was asked by Laura Kuenssberg if he would rule out an early general election.
“25,000 people voted for you in Makerfield, but 48 million people in the electorate in this country haven’t had a chance to have a say on any of your plans,” she told Burnham. “Do you rule out having a general election before 2029?”
Burnham responded by saying there “is no early general election” and made the valid point that the UK is in a parliamentary democracy where Labour secured a huge majority in 2024 thanks to people voting for their manifesto.
“That is what people voted for and I will honour that manifesto,” he said.
“I’m going to rule it out, there’s no early general election, I don’t think people want it. The opinion polls might say some people do, some people don’t but I think what I most need to do is get Britain focused on getting the country back where it should be.”