Nigel Farage has called for an immediate general election, asserting that incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham has “absolutely no mandate of any kind at all.” The Reform UK leader made the demand during his first major speech since resigning as an MP, delivered at the inaugural UK edition of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the O2 in London.
Farage’s Scathing Attack on Burnham
Farage described Burnham as “the great chameleon of British politicians” and dismissed the speech Burnham gave upon officially becoming Labour leader as “utterly vacuous.” He argued that a new prime minister entering office without a public vote undermines democracy. “The only good and decent and right thing to do given where we are, with a new Prime Minister coming in, that none of you have had the opportunity to vote for or against, is that there must be an immediate general election so that the country can decide the future,” Farage said.
Throughout his speech, Farage reiterated that Burnham had come in “with absolutely no mandate of any kind at all” in what “is supposed to be one of the world’s best and oldest and most functioning democracies.” He claimed that “nothing will get better under Andy Burnham.”
Policy and Economic Warnings
Farage, who is fighting a by-election in Clacton after resigning as an MP in protest at parliamentary and media scrutiny of his finances, predicted that under Burnham, “we’re going to get more of the same, but they’ll go further to the left than they already are.” He criticized Burnham’s stance on immigration, stating that Burnham has “never shown the slightest concern about what’s going on” and that there “was not a hope in hell” that Burnham would take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights.
On economic policy, Farage warned: “Taxes are going to rise and there’s talk, of course, of property taxes, which will collapse the housing market, especially in London and the South East, but it’ll do great damage elsewhere in the country. Top rate tax, I’ve no doubt, will go up and all of these things are happening for a man that has no mandate whatsoever.” He added that whoever Burnham selected as Chancellor of the Exchequer, none of them would “have ever worked in private business.”
Farage’s Motivation and Grim Prediction
Farage claimed he didn’t “need to be in politics” and that he was acting out of “fear” that Britain was “going down the drain.” He asserted that if Reform failed to win the next election, the UK would “go bust” and “I honestly believe we’re less than a decade away from effectively turning into a third world country, and I will be damned if I’m going to see that.”
Burnham’s Response and Labour Leadership
In his acceptance speech, Burnham declared “I have a plan” to give people “hope back” and set a political direction that is “distinctively Labour.” He said he was “ready to lead” as he took the party’s reins at a special conference. Burnham vowed to “build a new politics” with less division and factionalism, warning that Labour had a “last chance to change” and pledging to be “authentically us” instead of “wearing too many Tory clothes.”
Burnham returned to Westminster as Makerfield MP last month and gained overwhelming support from Labour MPs to take over from Sir Keir Starmer. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, as chairwoman of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee, confirmed that Burnham was backed by 379 of the party’s 403 MPs and all 11 unions affiliated with the party.
