'Don't Do It, Andy': Why Labour MPs Were Begging The PM Not To Call An Early Election

As he prepares for his first Labour conference as leader, speculation is rife that the PM could be tempted to go to the country.

What a difference a year makes.

Labour members will start gathering in Liverpool this weekend for their annual conference with a noticeable spring in their step.

The party now has a confirmed, if slight, lead in the opinion polls as Andy Burnham continues to enjoy a honeymoon period after replacing Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister in July.

His optimistic talk of putting “hope in every heart” appears to have resonated with a beleaguered electorate weighed down by more than a decade of austerity, stagnant economic growth, rising prices and political turmoil.

The so-called “Burnham Bounce” has also coincided with a downturn in the fortunes of Reform UK, whose own poll numbers have fallen since May, when the party enjoyed election success in England, Scotland and Wales.

Investigations into the financial affairs of Nigel Farage and his party have cut through with a public who, just a few months ago, seemed to be preparing to elect a Reform government.

It is all a far cry from 12 months ago, when the Labour conference was a downbeat affair as Starmer’s government lurched from scandal to disaster.

Deputy PM Angela Rayner had been forced to quit just weeks before over her tax affairs, forcing Starmer into a clumsily-handled and deeply unpopular reshuffle.

That was swiftly followed by the sacking of Lord Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to Washington over his friendship with the convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.

Ironically, the high point of last year’s conference for Starmer was his success in seeing off........

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