UK's new PM rules out early general election

The United Kingdom's new prime minister has ruled out calling an early general election.

Andy Burnham, who replaced Keir Starmer as PM on July 20, had been tipped to call an early snap election in the fall, in a bid to capitalize on his popularity and secure a mandate for radical change.

But, in a BBC interview broadcast on Sunday, he said he will not plunge the nation into additional political uncertainty by calling an early vote and will instead wait for the mandated end of the government's term, which means the next UK general election will be held in the first half of 2029.

"I'm going to rule it out," he said, when asked on Andy Burnham: The Laura Kuenssberg Interview about the prospect of an early vote. "I don't think people want it."

Burnham said that means he will abide by the promises made in the Labour Party manifesto published ahead of the July 4, 2024 general election that swept Starmer and his party to power with a massive parliamentary majority.

The UK's new leader said people "voted for a manifesto" and he would "honor that manifesto".

"I just think what I most need to do is get Britain focused on getting the country back where it should be, getting it working," he told Laura Kuenssberg, adding that he "faced the public" in the Makerfield by-election that sent him to parliament on June 18.

"I went out onto those doorsteps," he said when Kuenssberg accused him of not having faced the public. "I have done that. I have got the support of colleagues in Parliament."

Burnham took over as leader of the Labour Party and prime minister of the UK after Starmer lost the support of his lawmakers over his leadership style and some of his decisions, including one to name Peter Mandelson as UK's ambassador to the United States, despite links to the convicted high-profile pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Burnham, who served nine years as mayor of Greater Manchester before becoming prime minister, made the comments during his first major interview since taking the reins of the country.

He also said in the grilling at the new No 10 North in Manchester that he will work from the city one day a week, as part of an effort to shift power away from London.

During Burnham's first week on the job, he announced bus fares in England would be capped at 2 pounds ($2.66) a journey, and that tax on household electricity bills would be lowered from 5 percent to zero, a change that will save the average family 45 pounds a year.

He also slashed business taxes on pubs and entertainment venues by 20 percent, and set aside 340 million pounds to tackle rough sleeping.