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I'm not tempted to call an early election, Burnham says - Published Andy Burnham has insisted he is not tempted to call an early general election, arguing it would throw "the country into a backward-looking process". During a round of BBC interviews ahead of Labour's annual conference, the prime minister said his focus was on helping people with the cost of living and supporting businesses. Recent polling has suggested Labour's position has improved since Burnham replaced Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street in July, although Reform UK and the Conservatives are not far behind. An early general election could give Burnham a mandate of his own and free him from commitments made in Labour's 2024 manifesto. The next general election must be held by August 2029. Asked by ITV Calendar if the next election would be in 2029, he replied: "Yes, that's when the next election will be. "All of this speculation on an early election, I can knock that dead." Burnham heads to his first Labour Party conference as prime minister this weekend, with speculation over the prospect of a snap election likely to be a topic of conversation among some of those attending the event in Liverpool. Labour has been projected to lose its majority but remain the largest party in the House of Commons if there were a snap election, according to recent polling. It comes amid media reports that some of the prime minister's advisers have been weighing up the prospect of an election as early as next year. But Burnham sought to rule out this prospect during interviews with BBC regional political editors ahead of the conference opening on Sunday. Asked by BBC West political editor Paul Barltrop whether he was tempted to call an early poll, Burnham replied: "No, not particularly. No, I'm not. "I see all the speculation and it just races ahead," he said. "No election anytime soon. I'm focused on the job as prime minister, doing what I said I would do." 'Backward-looking' He was later asked by BBC East Midlands political editor Peter Saull if there would be a general election next May, alongside council elections in the area. The PM replied "no" before adding: "Not having a general election." Burnham also said he wanted to use the conference to say more about "the direction I want to take the country in", adding: "The focus is on that, helping people with the cost of living, helping businesses with the cost of running a business. "These have got to be the priorities right now, rather than throwing the country into a backward-looking process where we're arguing again amongst ourselves." Burnham said he wanted to ensure people were "feeling a bit of hope in their lives again", adding: "That's what I'm trying to do, and I hope to take it further in the coming period, rather than putting people back into an election cycle." The prime minister was also asked about the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats. It comes after 781 people were recorded arriving in 10 boats on Wednesday, the highest total for a single day so far this year. Burnham said his goal was that he did not want to see any crossings "at all". He declined to put a timescale on this ambition, but said his government would "not stop" working until crossings went "right down". He argued that Brexit had hampered the UK's ability to stop the arrivals, saying it had led to a "loss of collaboration with neighbours". Elsewhere in the series of interviews, he said: - He would not do any "special interviews" with the Sun - he told the BBC in 2015 that he had not forgiven the newspaper for its coverage of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster - Tourists would not "begrudge paying a few extra pounds" as a result of his proposal to allow regional mayors in England to charge new tax on visitors' overnight stays - The government would "do what we can within the resources that we've got to support people" in the Budget next month Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
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