Nigel Farage has renewed his call for a general election as Reform UK launched a petition demanding a snap vote. The Reform UK leader insisted new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has "no mandate" after he replaced Sir Keir Starmer in 10 Downing Street.
Burnham's mandate questioned
Mr Burnham, who returned to Parliament just weeks ago in the Makerfield by-election and was unopposed in the Labour leadership race, has pledged "the biggest changes in 40 years" to UK politics. Speaking at a Norfolk rally, Mr Farage said: "Andy Burnham has no mandate, no mandate whatsoever to bring about the biggest change for 40 years in British politics and downstream from that the biggest change in this country for 40 years."
Petition launched
Reform has launched the petition on a website with the slogan "Andy has no mandate". Mr Farage said: "The Conservatives don't want an election, funny that. The Liberal Democrats don't want an election, funny that. The British people clearly in opinion polls by a large majority do want a new general election, especially if there's a Prime Minister who comes in with no mandate and wants to make fundamental change."
Criticism of Burnham's plans
Mr Farage also hit out at Mr Burnham over his plan to scrap VAT from energy bills. He said: "If you add up all of the green levies, the renewable obligation certificates and I could go on, if you got rid of all of those, you'd reduce household bills by £200 per household, not the £45 offered by Burnham this morning."
Turning to the small boats crisis, Mr Farage said: "And will Andy Burnham stop the boats? Not a hope in hell. All the while, we stay part of the ECHR (European Court of Human Rights). We are not free in this country to get rid of those who come into our nation illegally and that is very near the top of voters' priorities."
Farage claims credit for Starmer's departure
Mr Farage also claimed credit for Sir Keir leaving No 10, saying: "And he's gone and we did it – we did it." Shortly after Mr Farage's speech, Mr Burnham hosted his first Cabinet meeting in Downing Street. He told his new top team: "We need to be a cost-of-living Government, getting that cost of living down, looking at all possible ways of doing that."
