Andy Burnham doesn't speak for us, say voters in South: Mail poll shows new PM faces a legitimacy crisis

By JASON GROVES, POLITICAL EDITOR and MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR Published: 00:32, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 00:37, 20 July 2026 Andy Burnham faces an extraordinary crisis of legitimacy when he enters Downing Street today. Exclusive polling for the Daily Mail reveals that, outside of his Manchester stronghold, many question his right to be Prime Minister after he seized power by stealth. When he takes over from Sir Keir Starmer this afternoon, the former mayor of Greater Manchester will pledge immediate help with the cost of living as he tries to fend off calls for a general election. But the self-styled King of the North faces a battle to win over voters across the country, the survey has found. In the South East of England, fewer than a quarter (24 per cent) believe his rise to power – having only returned to the Commons a month ago – has been 'legitimate', compared with 40 per cent who say it was not. Just 1 per cent believe he will significantly improve the economy. In the South West, 42 per cent believe the new PM got the job by 'illegitimate' means. In the East Midlands, barely a fifth (21 per cent) think he has the right to seize power. The Survation poll found that, across the country, 51 per cent of people believe Mr Burnham should hold an election this year, while 31 per cent do not. The remaining 18 per cent said they did not know. He has little backing outside his Manchester fiefdom and London, with only four regions of the UK supportive of how he has ousted Sir Keir. Amid fears the Makerfield MP will pile taxes on middle-class Southerners to fund his plans, four in ten say they do not believe he will govern in the interests of the country as a whole. Incoming PM Andy Burnham is seen during his afternoon run in Westminster on Sunday  Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Mr Burnham will become Prime Minister today following an extraordinary coup against Sir Keir, just two years after Labour's election landslide. Addressing the nation at lunchtime, Mr Burnham will pledge to 'give Britain more breathing space' in the cost-of-living crisis, with plans to shave money off energy bills and cut bus fares expected to be announced in the coming days. As Britain prepares for its seventh leader in a turbulent decade: Mr Burnham has the weakest mandate of any modern Prime Minister. Allies engineered a Labour 'coronation' which meant he did not have to set out his plans for the country. He did not stand on Labour's manifesto at the election and campaigned for his Makerfield seat on changing the party. The 25,000 votes he won in the by-election represent just 0.05 per cent of the electorate and have seen him dubbed a 'messiah without a mandate'. Former Tory Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said the new PM would face a public backlash unless he calls an election. 'How can he carry on without a mandate?' he said. 'Nobody voted for him. We need to move to a situation where a new leader has to have a general election.' But Mr Burnham will use his speech on the steps of No 10 today to argue against an early poll. He will say he is 'acutely conscious' of being the latest in a bewildering array of leaders in the last decade. And he will argue that Britain now needs 'a more stable and responsible politics', saying the country needs a period of 'reflection and resolution' in which it is 'honest about the challenges it faces'. Andy Burnham is pictured after officially being confirmed as the new Labour leader  Sir Keir Starmer will step down as Prime Minister this afternoon after two years in power  Mr Burnham pledged last week that he would govern for all parts of the country. But his ally, Labour's West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin, yesterday said his agenda was about 'taking power from the South'.  Polling for the Daily Mail reveals unease about Mr Burnham's decision to impose his so-called 'Manchesterism' politics on the rest of the country. The survey found more than one in three Britons (35 per cent) think the new PM's sudden rise to power is illegitimate – slightly more than the 34 per cent who believe he has a right to the job. Outside of the capital and the North West, only voters in the East of England and Northern Ireland believe Mr Burnham's coronation is legitimate. Damian Lyons Lowe, chief executive of Survation, said he enters No 10 as 'a Prime Minister who divides the country'.  He added: 'His challenge is one of reach – turning an unusually strong regional platform into comparable support nationally – with half the country saying he should call an early general election.' The poll of 2,060 adults was carried out last week. It also suggests that Nigel Farage is far from guaranteed a victory in the by-election he called.  Asked who they would vote for if they lived in Clacton, 34 per cent said the Reform leader while 25 per cent prefer novelty candidate Count Binface.