Andy Burnham - how can this be allowed?

Astonishing isn't it, on first glance. Then one remembers, it's Labour.

As others have repeatedly stated, in the UK we vote for a party, and not the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is the leader of the party that gets a working majority, either outright or as part of a coalition. That's why we've had a revolving door of Tory PMs, but without an election for each one.

That said... I don't like it. Unless the PM has done something so incompetent, morally egregious, or outright illegal, they should be in for the duration, without the risk of being ousted by party members who throw a meltdown at the slightest hurdle, seeking their moment of glory. We talk so much about building resilience in our children, about learning from failures, yet we've got people leading the country either quitting because they can't handle it, or because those around them think that stabbing them in the back is a good knee jerk reaction.

A party named the Literal Democrats won 10,000 votes in the 1994 European elections, as the Liberal Democrat candidate Adrian Sanders lost the Devon and East Plymouth constituency to the Conservatives by just 700 votes.
Mr Sanders, now the Lib Dem MP for Torbay, said his party would challenge the result in the High Court. It is believed many voters had opted for Literal Democrat candidate Richard Huggett in error.
Although the court case failed, Mr Huggett's tactics led to the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998, which outlawed the use of names in elections designed to cause confusion with more established parties.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-27056001

Oh, I'm sure that if Reform get in, they will have exactly the same issues - especially considering how many ex-Tory MPs have jumped ship to them. They'll have the knives out for Farage as soon as they get their seat. The problem isn't party-specific, it's an affliction of the entire political class, from the most insignificant student union or branch of the SWP, right up to the parties of government. The political media's obsession with drama rather than the dull mechanics of government doesn't help.

I’m not sure why anyone thinks AB will do a better job tbh. The Labour Party is fractured and the infighting won’t stop. It really feels like they are copying all the mistakes of the Tory party.

I agree 😅 Starmer doesnt seem to have grasped exactly how much him and his cronies have pissed the electorate off. Even after the sound thrashing they received in the locals

Ok, posts like this make me understand a little bit more why people in my local FB group are all crowing because "now Nigel can sort out the boats!"
They genuinely must think that he's now in charge of us as they voted for him 😕😁

Yes and no. We vote for an individual at constituency level, but unless someone has been a truly outstanding constituency MP, regardless of party, don't most people vote for the individual who represents the party they want to win? They vote for Joe Bloggs because he's Labour/Tory/Monster Raving Loony Party, not because he's Joe Bloggs.

I fully respect your feelings on this and that would be my instinctive reaction, had these been normal times. They aren’t normal times.

Labour simply have to get it together and fast. The fascists are at the door, and currently, they’ll be opening it in 3 years time. If AB prevents that in any way, I’d hold my nose and vote him in.

Pretty much exactly what Boris Johnson did.

Yes - I heard on the news they expect it will cost £5m. Maybe farage could get his mate to pay for it

I hope he loses the by election. They are treating the constituents as idiots.

The trouble with being disingenuous is that it does make you sound a bit stupid, but if you want to play those kind of games, it's the risk you take.

It is rather.

And it's not like there aren't ways to coherently object to this. But OP has picked a daft one and continues to dig a hole!

It will serve him right if Reform mount a huge campaign and win the seat - I hope they do in this instance. Labour are trying to manipulate this leadership challenge and it isn't right.

You really don't vote for the party (unless you are voting in the Senedd elections in Wales). You vote for an individual.

@FernandoSor yep. shit show is exactly what it is. same shit, different colour rosette. exactly the platform reform are standing on. they must be pissing themselves at this. literally handing the next election to them on a plate.

Exactly - as it keeps being said, you vote for the party , not the leader.
I'm not sure why that's so hard to understand. 😕

It's all a massive shitshow. I cannot believe how these people are putting their own egos and ambition above the country. This will make 7 PMs in less than a decade. Although I didn't vote for them (it's LibDem or Tory here and no-one else gets a look-in), I really thought that Labour would be a reset and a steady hand . But it turns out they are just as obsessed with party psychodrama as the Tories were.

Really!

I hadn't realised that they were not already Tory (not torie) MPs and had put out a call for any other Tory MP to shift their arse, so that they could have their seat.

By elections are expensive and paid for by
the taxpayer. It doesn’t sit right with me that they will be triggered to satisfy one man’s ambition to be leader

Yes, and the party which commands a majority of MPs runs the country. The point I am making is that the PM is only there by virtue of being the leader on the party with the most MPs. They are not elected to be the prime minister.

He's not the president. We vote for parties, not leaders. Kier Starmer was only voted in by his constituency, as Andy Burnham will be. You don't understand it at all.

What's your problem with Andy Burnham?

whether this is lawful or not, undemocratic or not isnt really the issue for me. It stinks. its a massive distraction of people who should be running our country selflessly who are putting political ambition before the job in hand.

Labour have just proved reforms point to a tee. different colour rosette same old shit.

i hope he doesnt get in and I hope starmer is allowed to just get on with the job stop the fecking u turns, actually prioritise working people like he says he does and starts to make the difference that we need.

people vote for the party and their manifesto. take a look at labours. what have they achieved and what have they u turned on. the time to listen is before you make the decision, not afterwards.

I am sick of it. sick of politicians treating it like a game when people are genuinely struggling. talking about the right wing threat then playing completely into their hands.

when you vote, you vote for the party and its manifesto.

I dont want Andy Burnham. he isnt some saviour of the Labour party or saviour of the country. if Labour cant get on and do the job with the 400+ MPs it already has then what difference is this one man going to make.

remember Boris? saviour of the country? saviour of the Tories.also a city mayor? and that ended really well didnt it.

if he is that fecking marvellous how come he lost his seat?