British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out calling an early general election, insisting his priority is delivering the programme voters backed at the last election rather than returning to the polls.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Burnham dismissed speculation about an early vote, saying: “I’m going to rule it out… I don’t think people want it.”
The former Greater Manchester mayor, who succeeded Keir Starmer as prime minister earlier this week, said the government had a clear democratic mandate to implement Labour’s manifesto commitments.
“I think people voted for a manifesto,” Burnham said, adding that he intended to honour those promises with the support of his parliamentary colleagues.
Burnham said his immediate focus was on improving the country’s economic and social performance rather than engaging in another election campaign.
“What I most need to do is get Britain focused on getting the country back where it should be, getting it working,” he said.
The comments come just days into Burnham’s premiership as he begins setting out his agenda, including plans to devolve more powers from Westminster to England’s regions and accelerate economic growth.
via BBC
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