Voters disapprove of plans to crown Andy Burnham as Prime Minister without a contest, new polls have revealed.
One survey found that barely one-in-five voters – just 21 per cent – believe he should be installed immediately as Prime Minister.
By contrast, 54 per cent think he should first face a Labour leadership contest.
The Public First poll for Politico found the desire for a leadership contest was even stronger among Labour voters, with 57 per cent saying Mr Burnham should seek a mandate of his own.
Mr Burnham looks set to sweep to power on 17 July in a Labour ‘coronation’ just weeks after winning a by-election in Makerfield that made him eligible to stand for the Labour leadership.
A separate YouGov poll found that the public favour a General Election by a margin of 48:36.
The survey found that just 18 per cent of people believe Mr Burnham will make a good PM, with 20 per cent who believe he will be average and 26 per cent who predict he will be poor or ‘terrible’.
This week, Sir Keir announced he would give in to pressure from Labour MPs to step down as party leader, sparking a leadership election.
Nominations for the position will open on 9 July and close a week later, with possible contenders requiring the support of at least 80 MPs, but Mr Burnham now looks set to be the only candidate, paving the way for him to become PM on 17 July, the day after nominations close.
Just days after stating that a contest was necessary, former health secretary Wes Streeting cleared the way for a coronation on Monday by declaring he would now support Mr Burnham.
Despite being encouraged to run by certain pro-Starmer MPs, Cabinet Office minister Darren Jones officially withdrew on Wednesday. Al Carns, a former special forces officer, has stated that he is still considering his options, but the majority of MPs do not think he has sufficient support.
Several hard-Left MPs have called for a contest, but do not have a credible contender to rally behind.
Nigel Farage has called for an immediate General Election, saying it was ‘ridiculous to pretend that Andy Burnham has any kind of meaningful mandate to lead the country’.
‘If Labour thinks it can shove another professional politician into No 10, it has another think coming.’
Mr Burnham would have the poorest mandate of any prime minister in history if he takes office next month without a challenge, and the calls for a General Election will only continue to grow. Burnham will only anger people the longer he is Prime Minister.
Naturally, Burnham is not yet prime minister, and the fact that just 0.0357 per cent of the electorate supported him—all of whom reside in Makerfield—is a coup.
He won’t last 5 minutes. Absolutely delusional Labour. Nobody wants him apart from hard socialist and extreme left Labour MPs.
There should be an immediate demand for a General Election. Andy Burnham’s leadership of Labour is acceptable, but he shouldn’t be allowed to become prime minister out of the blue.
He has been allowed to just waltz in; not one of 400 MPs can step up. What a damning verdict of the Labour Party, and he will be as popular as Smarmer by the end of the summer, and to be honest, I wouldn’t give it that long. This is the man who has failed twice to become Labour leader and, on one occasion, got fewer votes than Diane Abbott.
He lacks both ideas and answers. This was not supported by any votes, and a General Election would give the people a say in Britain’s future.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 