Andy Burnham - how can this be allowed?

Or a proper leader runs a GE campaign and the voters vote for that person and their policies more or less i.e Farage at the next GE or Boris when he made the correct noises about Brexit. When they are parachuted in (RS wasn"t even elected by the party members?) the power of that government evaporates quicker than steam.

No, that would not be funny, at all.

He has tried twice previously to be leader and failed, they are really desperate now, would be funny if Reform put up a candidate and won the seat! They are just a clown show walking now, there is no one they have available that can beat Reform in a GE, they are all just running on ego and completely out of touch.

1st post nails it..
You vote for an mp 1st, which may mean the party has a majority...then they elect their leader

By the time Labour gets a new prime minister in place the electorate will be demanding a general election. The new leader will only have 2 years max to try and sort things out.

I wonder about that, actually. We never got to a critical mass of the public doing that during the other mid term PM swaps in the last decade, and there's a good chunk of people who are fearful of instability.

I don't take a great interest in politics, but extraordinary to me that out of, what, 400 odd labour MP’s not one of them is up to the job so they’ve got to parachute a popular media figure into save the day.

Politics has become such a bear pit, what sort of idiot would want to be one anymore!

I hope AB walks away with nothing, same for Angela waiting so obviously at the side.

I actually live in the constituency he is running to get a seat in. I really like and respect Andy Burnham, however a lot of people I speak to don’t. It’s quite reform heavy at the moment and I don’t think he will win the seat, so there will be no such issue, unfortunately.

It looks like this mess is going to take 6 months to sort out.
By the time Labour gets a new prime minister in place the electorate will be demanding a general election. The new leader will only have 2 years max to try and sort things out.
It looks like a disaster to me. I would also resent being a pawn in Andy Burnhams game.

I hope it backfires on them massively. They are treating the electorate like idiots. All smoke and mirrors. It’s an absolute disgrace!

Basically REform need to win as they are the only viable alternative

Starmer would do us all a favour if his leaving present was a bill that if a PM is changed outside a general election there should be a general election within a year. That would really focus the minds of MPs whether they want to risk their own seat. A year should be just enough time to show some improvement and win it.

@Boopybop
In reality though, in a GE - people are voting for who will be the next Prime Minister.

This is technically and in practice not true. The most obvious evidence being constituencies with minor party MPs, e.g. Greens or independent MPs, who are not affiliated with any party at all.

Im actually disgusted by it all. It just seems so arrogant and manipulative. Plus, I remember Andy Burnham being in government before. He always struck me as having a vastly overinflated idea of his own abilities and charisma. I dont understand how he's suddenly being seen as some sort of messiah.

While here inthe UK we vote for MPs and the biggest group of them , either alone or in coalition, form the government and whoever leads that group is PM, it’s really not true to say we don’t vote for the leaders. How many people voted Tory because they genuinely believed in Boris, or Maggie, how many voted for Blair rather than Labour , it’s almost stupid to say we don’t vote for the leader because for many, that person has a massive influence on the decision. I would never have voted Labour when
Corbin was in charge as an example but would have with Starmer. Equally I wouldn’t vote Labour if Burnham, Rayner or Streeting was in charge. Id totally agree that, effectively, a small number of people in one constituency will decide who the PM is and thus the direction the country will go and I’m not totally convinced that is how democracy should work

Reform voters are undoubtedly voting for Farage as the local candidates have no track record or experience. Especially in these recent council elections.
I'm surprised people are surprised about this.

However, despite voting for him, he's not PM (yet) and it will trickle down to everyone eventually that the Reform councils can't stop the boats.

It will also become clear in a few years, if Nigel ever is PM, that he has no intention of stopping the boats either.

A PP mentioned that reform had done very well in the local election in Makerfield. I don't think AB is going to win the seat. It will be a disaster for Labour.

Its allowed because Josh Simons has every right to stand down from his role as MP. Clearly he can't be forced to continue against his wishes, can he?
When an MP stands down the constituents get the chance to vote again for a replacement.
Andy Burnham will stand together with anyone else who chooses to, and the constituents vote for the person they choose.
Obviously the hope is they will pick Burnham, (meaning he can go on to challenge the PM for leadership) but that's up to the constituents.
So I really don't see what 'shouldn't be allowed' about the thing really. It's not as though Burnham has been swapped in for Simons without the constituents having a choice, is it?

The person who said short term pain for long term gain - I don’t think a new PM will last either

it’s the short sightedness of the football club - haven’t won your first 3 games - sack the manager and get a new one

the problem is, you end up with increasingly worse candidates because who wants to be involved in that kind of shit show

We don't have a party-list system in the UK, except in the Senedd. We vote for individual named candidates, not for a party.

In many other countries, you vote for a party. For UK national elections, we vote for individuals (who may be, but are not required to be, members of a party).

It's really not difficult to understand.

Given you don’t vote for a PM I don’t particularly have a problem with that. But I do think he is being incredibly disrespectful to the people who elected him as mayor and for that reason really I don’t want him to become prime minister.

I hate the thought of reform beating labour but I think it would serve him right to not get elected

Surely the point is that no one elects the PM? The majority party chooses their leader. There is no ballot of the electorate for that (thank God, considering the state the US is in).

I think the objectors are just worried that Labour might win the next GE with Burnham in charge. And well they might. He's been a fabulous Metro Mayor.

You know, just because someone doesn't perform well when being interrogated, or doesn't perform well when speaking in public, doesn't mean they are a bad or ineffective leader.

Getting your message across and inspiring confidence are fairly essential qualities in a leader. The PM has to face the Commons at PMQs each week. He or she does need to be able to perform on that occasion.

I’m no fan of Boris Johnson but he got in at a General Election - nobody resigned and triggered a by-election on his behalf.

A large part of the fault lies with the electorate. Someone said here that we live at a time of Amazon Prime style politics, and that is exactly it. Everyone expects a smorgasboard of their own personal preferences catered to instantly by any political leader and if people don't get exactly what they want, when they want it, they call for the resignation of said leader and basically cancel the party, as has happened with Labour. All the good and positive changes Labour has already managed to achieve in a very difficult national and global climate go unnoticed.

The media which is largely controlled by right wing billionaires whips up hysteria about the small boats and brown people and people respond to the dog whistle politics of Farage and co who play to people's worst instincts and promise the world (which they will not be able to deliver).

So look in the mirror, guys, when you point the finger at Labour. You are to blame for this as well.

My preference would have been for Keir Starmer to say in power and get on with the job, but as that ship appears to have sailed and he is on the plank, my money is on Andy Burnham to have the best chance (even if limited) to beat Reform at the next GE. Yes, he may have personal ambitions but at this point I think all that is irrelevant, he just needs to beat Reform, and I imagine that is what he means to do, irrespective of his ego and ambitions.

It's funny how people call for this impeccable integrity and disinterestedness from Labour politicians when to me most people have zero maturity or integrity in their voting habits and political opinions.