Andy Burnham has said he will not call a general election if he becomes prime minister, but revealed he will seek to persuade Labour to put voting reform in its next manifesto. The Makerfield MP, now widely regarded as prime-minister-in-waiting, took part in an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit on Friday evening, after facing criticism for refusing to take questions from journalists following his one major speech of the leadership campaign so far.
No Snap Election, Manifesto Commitments Stand
When asked by a Reddit user if he would call an election, Burnham replied: “No. As I said in my speech on Monday, I’m going to work to the 2024 manifesto.” He similarly suggested he would stick to the 2024 Labour manifesto when asked about whether he would scrap the pensions triple lock, which protects the rate at which the state pension rises. “I appreciate there’s a lot of debate about this but it is important that the commitment in the manifesto stands,” he said.
Electoral Reform: A Strong Supporter
Burnham, who could be in No 10 on July 20, has received little scrutiny over his policy platform, having given only one interview – on Thursday evening with LBC. His Reddit responses offered insight into his leadership approach. On electoral reform, he said: “I am a strong supporter of electoral reform, partly because I believe it will enable the change to a more collaborative politics, and one that is less about point-scoring and more about problem-solving. I will seek to persuade my own party of the need for a manifesto commitment to it in the next manifesto.” Labour’s party conference voted to support moving towards a proportional representation voting system in 2022, but the 2024 manifesto focused on extending voting to 16- and 17-year-olds and House of Lords reform.
Conservative Leader Challenges Burnham
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch criticised Burnham’s media approach, accusing him on Friday of “running away from being asked questions” by journalists. She posted on Reddit to ask Burnham a question: “Hi Andy, Kemi here. Whilst you’re answering softball questions on Reddit, I’ve been in Yorkshire answering questions from the press. You’re going to be prime minister soon so it’s time to start acting like one. Come out from hiding, face a proper press conference and submit yourself to scrutiny and some tough questions. Are you up for it?” Burnham responded: “Fair challenge, Kemi – but don’t forget it’s only two weeks since I faced questions from 74,000 members of the public in Makerfield!”
Foreign Policy and Tax Hints
The likely next prime minister also hinted at his foreign policy stance, saying he would “100%” give the same level of support to Ukraine as Sir Keir Starmer had, and suggested he wanted to continue efforts to broker a closer relationship with the EU. In his first interview since Starmer announced his resignation, Burnham said there was room for movement on tax despite pledging to keep Labour’s 2024 manifesto commitments not to increase workers’ income tax, national insurance or VAT rates. He told LBC there was room within the manifesto’s restrictions to increase taxes on warehouses to help high street businesses such as pubs.
