Andy Burnham - how can this be allowed?

[Boopybop]

I know that there is a long way to go over the coming weeks, with by-elections and leadership challenges. But fundamentally - how can it be right that a man who was not even a candidate in the General Election, was therefore not voted for in the General Election - become Prime Minister? Effectively, the people of Makerfield are selecting the country’s new Prime Minister (as it is pretty obvious that AB would win a leadership contest).

This feels wholly undemocratic in every way.

AIBU - Andy Burnham has every right to become PM

AINBU - it is not right that a by-election in Makerfield can determine who the next Prime Minister will be

We seem to be living with chaos since 2016, I am really struggling to think of a single politician that I trust and respect. I am sure there are some with decency, principles and integrity but I guess they are not the real career ones who would sell their souls for a bite at power. My MP is ok, she is accessible, local to my city and always responds to emails in a way that shows she has read them and she holds surgeries which is more than you can say for some. So disillusioned and tired of all this soap opera we are currently seeing.

We don't elect a political party at all (except in Wales where they use party-list PR for the Senedd elections). We elect individual MPs.

You are aware that Sunak, Truss became PM in the same way?

If you don't vote for Reform, are you a Torie voter, how's the above any different or were you affronted by that too?

I wish everyone would get back in their bloody boxes, and the press would stop goading them to come out again. I don't care for a great deal of what Starmer is doing, but some of it is fine, and I see no evidence that another body in Number 10 would do anything different. It's what they actually do that counts, isn't it? And Makerfield sounds like a massively risky seat to challenge at this juncture. The whole thing's a bloody shitshow.
Have a leadership challenge if you must, Labour, but Burnham needs to accept that this isn't the right time for him.

😂

Ooh! I bet Labour are quaking in their boots.

This thread is hilarious, btw. An OP who doesn't understand the democratic process, saying "No, I do" and then repeating their original points. Fabulous.

By the way on a GE ballot paper you do put the your cross against the candidate's name. Their party is named as well....

I believe parties were only included after someone changed his name legally to Edward Heath and stood as a candidate in Heath's constituency. Parties were added on the ballot paper to prevent confusion.

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?

What's your problem with Andy Burnham?

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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. 😕

@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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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

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

Pretty much exactly what Boris Johnson did.

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.

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.