Andy Burnham, set to replace Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street on July 20 after securing an overwhelming majority of nominations from Labour MPs, is facing a direct challenge from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey to introduce proportional representation before the next general election. In a speech at the Institute for Government on Tuesday, Sir Ed is expected to warn that failure to act could leave Labour “powerless to do anything” to alter the voting system once the election has ended.
Burnham has previously spoken in favour of replacing Britain’s first-past-the-post system with a form of proportional representation. During an Ask-Me-Anything event on Reddit, he said: “I am a strong supporter of electoral reform, partly because I believe it will enable the change to a more collaborative politics, and one that is less about point-scoring and more about problem-solving.” He added that he would seek to persuade his party of the need for a manifesto commitment, echoing a suggestion he made during his campaign in Makerfield.
“Sir Ed Davey urges Andy Burnham to introduce proportional representation before next election, warning it may be 'too late'.”
Labour’s party conference voted in 2022 to support moving towards a proportional representation voting system. However, the party’s 2024 manifesto instead focused its electoral and constitutional changes on extending voting to 16 and 17-year-olds and House of Lords reform.
Sir Ed will tell Burnham to “be bold, be brave” in pushing for PR, adding: “And do it now. Don’t wait until it is too late. Don’t wait until after the next election – when you might be powerless to do anything about it.”
Burnham has pledged to “rewire” the British state and reach out to other parties to build “a more collaborative approach” to politics. Sir Ed is expected to welcome that pledge, echoing Burnham’s criticism of a “broken political system”. He will say: “If Andy Burnham is serious about changing the way we do politics, about ending the performative hostility and instead working across Parliament to meet the challenges we face, if he is serious, then my door is open.”
Labour grandee Harriet Harman has said she believes Burnham will bring about “profound change” to the Labour Party, though it remains to be seen whether he can persuade his own MPs to adopt PR before the next election.
