UK Adults Back Leadership Contest by 54% Over Andy Burnham's Immediate Elevation
Updated
Updated · POLITICO Europe · Jun 24
UK Adults Back Leadership Contest by 54% Over Andy Burnham's Immediate Elevation
2 articles · Updated · POLITICO Europe · Jun 24
Summary
54% of U.K. adults said Labour should hold a leadership contest after Keir Starmer’s resignation, rather than immediately install Andy Burnham as leader and prime minister.
Only 1 in 5 backed Burnham’s automatic elevation even though he is the clear front-runner and won last week’s Makerfield by-election to enter Parliament.
57% of Labour voters also favored a contest, showing support for a formal race extends beyond the wider electorate into the party’s own base.
The poll points to a legitimacy test for Burnham as he emerges from Starmer’s abrupt fall just two years after Labour’s decisive election victory.