Andy Burnham says he will bring in proportional representation to allow smaller parties to govern

By CLAIRE ELLICOTT, WHITEHALL EDITOR Published: 18:45, 3 July 2026 | Updated: 18:59, 3 July 2026 Andy Burnham has vowed to bring in proportional representation in Labour’s next manifesto. The commitment would allow smaller parties like the Greens, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK to form part of the government. He made the pledge in an online Q&A in which he also vowed to keep the triple lock and said he would strike returns agreements for foreign criminals with Afghanistan. Earlier this week in a major speech, Mr Burnham said he wanted to work with other parties to bring about change in Westminster. However, the public voted against changing the electoral system in a referendum held by the coalition government in 2011. Asked about his ambitions for electoral reform, 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. ‘I will seek to persuade my own Party of the need for a manifesto commitment to it in the next manifesto.’ His answer was among a handful of responses he gave to more than 4,500 posts on online forum Reddit after he took part in an ‘Ask Me Anything’ online session. Andy Burnham says he will bring in proportional representation to allow smaller parties to govern But Kemi Badenoch accused the former Manchester mayor of ‘running away’ from media scrutiny after he announced he would answer questions online rather than engage with journalists. Reddit is an online forum in which anyone can discuss topics under subject headings. Mr Burnham said he would answer ‘some of your questions’ and managed just 23 in the hour that he was on the site. He vowed to keep the triple lock in a further spending commitment for his new government which is already facing questions about tax rises. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has said the annual cost of the triple lock policy is estimated to reach £15.5bn by 2030. But he dodged questions about student loan debt despite them being ranked highly on the website, choosing instead to answer questions on devolution of power. Despite not yet being confirmed as the next prime minister, he pre-emptively said he would ‘speak soon’ to the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Elsewhere, he ruled out calling an election and said he would bring public services ‘under stronger public control’ through nationalisation or regulation. He also responded to Mrs Badenoch, who posted a question asking whether he’d submit himself to scrutiny rather than taking ‘softball’ questions on Reddit. He said it was just two weeks since he’d faced questions from the public in Makerfield during the by-election. But earlier, Mrs Badenoch said: ‘Andy Burnham, I’m amazed, was running away from being asked questions. Reddit is easy, he can filter which ones he wants to answer, just look at the easy questions. ‘So I’m going to make sure that I do it the proper way, unbiased, neutral media scrutiny, questions from members of the public, I do town halls, I’m always happy to answer any questions, but I wouldn’t use Reddit as a way to show I was open to scrutiny. ‘I think he can do a bit better than that.’ She also called on Mr Burnham to come to Parliament and set out his plans, saying: ‘I don’t think someone should become prime minister without being asked any questions at all.’ Despite his expected victory, Mr Burnham has kept a low profile since returning to Westminster with little media engagement. He declined to take questions at a keynote speech earlier this week - a highly unusual move for a major political address. He was also accused of running away from reporters at his Makerfield by-election victory rally. The new MP has done just one broadcast interview with LBC which lasted just over 15 minutes since putting himself forward as a candidate for the top job. Instead, he has chosen to post on X and take part in online answer sessions on social media sites Reddit and Instagram. As a result, little is known about the prime minister-in-waiting’s plans for government ahead of his expected coronation on July 20. He is yet to expand on any of his plans for government beyond saying he would set up a northern base and further devolve power away from Whitehall. He has also signalled that he will increase taxes, de-privatise key industries such as water and energy and not make ‘crude cuts’ to the welfare budget. The former mayor of Greater Manchester is widely expected to get the top job without having to go through a leadership contest and be given the top job as soon as July 20. The comments below have not been moderated. 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