The third reading of the Representation of the People Bill—which would lower the voting age to 16 and tighten campaign finance rules—has been postponed until after parliament's summer recess, sparking speculation that Andy Burnham may push the legislation further. Top of the amendment list is a call for a national commission on electoral reform, backed by nearly a third of MPs, while two Labour MPs, Antonia Bance and Bell Ribeiro-Addy, have tabled less popular amendments introducing a “compulsory duty to vote”.
Proponents point to Australia, which introduced compulsory voting in 1924 and now enjoys turnout rates of 90 per cent. In contrast, turnout for the 2024 UK general election was below 60 per cent—falling to 53 per cent when unregistered eligible voters are included, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research. The Constitutional Society’s 2025 report *Universal Suffrage?* found turnout was significantly higher among white voters (by 13 percentage points), wealthy voters (22), older voters (34) and outright homeowners (36) compared with ethnic minority, poor, younger and renting counterparts. “Low and unequal turnout can no longer be seen as merely a symptom of democratic malaise, but must now be understood as a contributing factor… undermining political trust,” the report warned.
“Andy Burnham faces pressure to introduce compulsory voting as critics label him a 'tinkerer' lacking transformative vision.”
But Burnham faces fierce opposition from the Green Party, whose leader Zack Polanski accused him of being a “tinkerer” who lacks the appetite for “transformational change”. “Is Andy Burnham just Continuity Starmer? I think we will come to realise soon that he is. I challenge him to prove me wrong,” Polanski said. He criticised Burnham’s record as mayor of Greater Manchester, claiming he gave £1bn of public money to private developers for luxury flats while only a handful of affordable homes were built, and that Manchester and Salford now have the highest homelessness rates in the north west.
Polanski also attacked Burnham’s cabinet choices: keeping Shabana Mahmood as Home Secretary was an “endorsement of her awful immigration policies”, while making John Healey Chancellor suggested he wanted to “prioritise defence spending over support for sick and disabled people”. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, he noted, is second only to Wes Streeting for donations from organisations linked to private health, and Streeting himself—now Defence Secretary—has taken tens of thousands of pounds from companies linked to arms firms and Palantir. “The lead singer has changed, but it's all the same songs,” Polanski said.
With the bill delayed and divisions emerging over the way forward, Burnham must decide whether to embrace reform or risk being seen as a continuation of his predecessor.