UK may be tipped into a general election' if Burnham replaces Starmer, says Harman

Andy Burnham replacing Keir Starmer as prime minister could lead to a need for a fresh mandate, especially if Nigel Farage frames Burnham as an usurper. A surge in polls could prompt Burnham to call for a general election rather than simply carry out Starmer’s mandate. A win in the Makerfield byelection on 18 June could open the door to a leadership challenge, with Burnham likely as the frontrunner. Harriet Harman expressed concern about both leadership challenges and another general election, arguing that stability is what people want. She also noted that Starmer’s government promised greater stability after recent electoral setbacks.

"If Burnham replaces Starmer as prime minister in the coming months, he may feel he needs to secure his own mandate, partly because Nigel Farage would accuse him of being a usurper, she told an audience at the Hay literary festival. There is a scenario in which the new leader, let's call him Andy Burnham for example, actually thinks I need a new mandate,' she said, rather than just manage the implementation of Keir Starmer's mandate."

"And if he were to have a big surge in the polls, he might think that in that case, he should go for a general election. We might find ourselves not only with a new prime minister, but somehow tipped into a new general election, she added. If Burnham wins the Makerfield byelection on 18 June, it would pave the way for a leadership challenge in which he would probably be the frontrunner."

"I don't want to say that a change of leadership is inevitable, and I 100% want Andy Burnham to win in that Makerfield byelection and come down to Westminster. But I don't want a leadership challenge, and I also don't want a general election another general election. Stability is such a fusty and unsexy proposition, but actually, I think people just want to get on with their lives, get on with their businesses, get on with things, and chopping and changing looks kind of chaotic at the top, she said."

"Harman, whom Starmer appointed as an adviser on women and girls in the wake of Labour's disastrous results at this month's local and devolved elections, said she sometimes wonders if she is the only person on the planet in favour of letting a prime minister crack on with doing it, short of misconduct. If Burnham becomes leader, Farage will be saying, Well yes, the country does want a new pri"

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