Andy Burnham - how can this be allowed?

You vote for the party not the person. I think people forget this.

That is a good point as well. The leadership challenge won’t be easy to win. Andy Burnham lost out twice to very left leaning candidates ( Jeremy Corbyn and Ed Milliband )
He has several hurdles to get to becoming PM.
His obviously going for it I think , but so are Reform. They are probably looking forwards to this battle.

First post sums it up. You don’t seem to understand how our political system works…

You means the ginger growler, the FRAUDULENT OPPORTUNIST who defaulted on £40,000 tax!
She, who has a hotline to HMRC (as do all MP’s)

She, who demanded that she get an immediate answer rather than wait in line like the rest of us.

She, who purportedly has paid no fine when we are penalised even for submitting a tax return late.

She, who overvalued her family home so she could take more from her son’s trust fund!
That shyster!

Posted to soon if the next PM hapoened to have a constituancy in cleethorpes the next PM would be voted in by the people of cleethorpes.

An LBC presenter made a good point today that it’s short term pain for long term gain ( possibly ) If they have this leadership challenge soon ( with Andy Burnham or not ) then in a year’s time it’ll be old news and labour can crack on with a new PM. All very simplistic I know, but it made sense to me and yesterday it didn’t. Keir Starmer is weak at the moment and it’s bound to happen sooner or later. He can only bunker down for so long. I feel they will just wait now for this by election and see what happens there.
It’s a long haul, especially for AB.

This would be a better argument if you were objecting to the system we have and advocating for substantial change. I can at least understand and respect arguments for eg a directly elected PM, I prefer the current system but there is at least a discussion to be had there.

Whereas objecting because the person wasn't elected at the last GE is just stupid. By-elections happen all the time, and are a normal part of our system.

Well not really first of all he has to win the by electtion
And then if successful win the leadership contest
But also all PMs will be a an MP for a constituancy
Regardless of where that constituancy is
So buy your logic if the next PM

I think it's rude beyond belief to the people of Makerfield to use them for personal ambition!

I'm not sure he'd win a leadership contest - he's failed twice already!

Ha! That’ll teach me not to proof read! It seems the only way my phone will let me type Makerfield is by typing Maker field and then deleting the space in the middle.

We have by elections all the time. One thing I do think is undemocratic is when someone changes party and there is no by election. No okay.

But this is a by election because the voted for MP is standing aside. His choice.
And the candidate is from the same party.
There is no guarantee he will be PM. Or even elected. Likely of course but not a given.

I imagine the self serving mutt will lose the by-election (It is by, not bi) because most voters will have the normal human emotion of not wanting to be used.

If he does win, then I would be surprised if it was by more than the hairs on his arse.

Disgusting that an elected MP can think he "owns" his electorate and can just shift them all across to another candidate.

No doubt this Simons character will pop up in the House of Lords if AB wins because, after all, nothing for nothing and the only people stitched up will be the electorate.

Hopefully, anyone -even the Lunatic Greens- will win and give these two a punch on the nose.

Agree. The people of Makerfield are not stupid. They won’t be manipulated. I don’t have a vote because I don’t live there but I do live in Manchester and I know which party won’t be getting my vote for Mayor.
The arrogance of Burnham takes my breath away.

When you say ‘we’ you don’t speak for everyone. cos I can say that too!

I think a lot of people agree with you.
For me this government have done lots of things so far that are concerning to a normal person but they always seem to tell us that it's all above board and no rules have been broken etc so we have to suck it up. It all just feels underhand and manipulative.
And so many people will defend them just because they are Labour. I dont know if it's genuine agreement or just overwhelming hatred for other parties.
Honestly if any other party had done half the things they have there would be uproar, mainly from Labour themselves. They shouted so loudly about others breaking the rules and that they wouldn't, grown ups being in charge etc etc.
Endless things just get glossed over. There has been so much that you forget things.
Everything is blamed on the previous government. There is no accountability at all from the party or their supporters.
And all you get from people on here if you dare to speak the truth is that you're uneducated and patronised like they are some sort of superior being or get called a bot.
I have no love for any particular party. I have voted differently in almost every general election but I wouldn't vote Labour again.

😂

The constituents of Makerfield will have a choice to vote for him or not, they know his plans

That is democratic

Of course as per their MO Labour are being idiotic with this leadership squabble, whatever happens. They should be sitting tight with Starmer and steadying the dinghy. Getting rid of him for someone else won't change much and just makes everything more unstable. But of course the country comes last. Labour don't understand it's them we dont want, the leader is just the sticker on their mess.

Ah - I didn’t know that. I was more talking about the prospect of him losing the by-election to be honest.

Currently my brigade is nil participants lol 😂

I floated the idea for the first time yesterday and was met with the same comments OP is getting that ‘I don’t understand the system’.

Well I DO! It’s that if I pay (in advance) then I can vote.

Unfortunately I am not a trade union member. If brigade members can be members without paying then great for them!

my hot take is ‘you only get to vote for your own MP’ the candidates are, (in the Labour Party anyway) selected by the local constituency - they are then out to the constituency.
then if they win they join the PLP - we (the members) get to vote on who our leader is. It’s pretty democratic.

I think we are just throwing red meat to the right wingers once we have done this btw. I mean, they sat happily through the last government’s revolving door of PM’s but now it’s democracy at risk (lol) the ‘get Starmer out’ crew have already moved on to ‘general election now’ between that, the bots and the media your baying will destroy this country - as it did with Brexit.

No, we aren't electing the leader. I don't know how many times people have to say it, but this isn't how it works, and if you think it is, then maybe try and learn a bit more about how the political system works in this country.

Would you feel the same if it was any of the MPs elected in the recent, more widespread, local elections?

It won't - at least not until the next election. AB will stay if he is not elected as an MP.

I don’t think Tim Roca is going anywhere.