Nigel Farage has demanded a snap general election just moments after Sir Keir Starmer confirmed he will resign as Prime Minister pending a Labour leadership contest.
The Reform UK leader, who is currently leading in the opinion polls, set out why he believes Britons want to go to the polls in a 1,477-word Substack essay.
Mr Farage opened his essay by blasting Sir Keir as “the most incompetent Prime Minister this country has ever had the misfortune of having” and claimed to have “deposed” him as Labour leader.
The Clacton MP went on to argue he had also “deposed” a number of Tory Prime Ministers, including David Cameron, Theresa May and Rishi Sunak.
However, Mr Farage revealed he is now setting his sights on taking down Andy Burnham, Sir Keir’s presumptive successor as Labour leader and Prime Minister.
Despite suffering a major electoral blow at the hands of Mr Burnham in Makerfield last week, Mr Farage wrote: “You know as well as I do that the country cannot afford to waste another week drifting from crisis to crisis.
“That’s why millions of you turned out in the local elections to vote for Reform councillors, and it’s why we have led in more than 300 opinion polls for well over a year.
“The British public have made their voices clear in May this year and last: Britain is broken and they want a radical reforming government that will fundamentally fix our country.
“But instead, Westminster wants to crown Andy Burnham off the back of a single by-election.”
Directly addressing his disappointment following Makerfield, Mr Farage accused Mr Burnham of “repackaging” Reform UK’s “Get Starmer Out” slogan.
He added: “I’m not frightened of Andy Burnham or any of the other Labour Party stooges.
“The same applies to Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative Party, who oppose a General Election and seem to think that it is perfectly acceptable to chop and change Prime Ministers at will.
“This is how the uniparty operates. The truth is that they are frightened of us.
“That’s why they band together at every by-election to attempt to block us from victory, why they tried to cancel the local elections and why they’ll try their very hardest to hold off on a general election for as long as possible.”
Mr Farage’s essay was primarily an attack on Mr Burnham ahead of the ex-Culture Secretary being sworn in as the MP for Makerfield this afternoon.
He accused Mr Burnham of “using democracy as a means to an end” and appeared to suggest the ex-Greater Manchester Mayor is a political chameleon.
However, senior Labour figures now see Mr Burnham as the party’s best bet to take on Mr Farage following his thumping victory in Makerfield last week.
Mr Burnham, who is proclaimed by supporters as the “King of the North”, is supposedly hoping to secure a coronation rather than fight a Labour leadership contest and recently ruled out a snap election while campaigning in Makerfield.
There is currently no constitutional obligation to hold a general election following a change of Prime Minister.
Gordon Brown refused to call a snap poll after succeeding Sir Tony Blair in 2007, prompting cries that the former Chancellor had “bottled it”.
Meanwhile, Sir John Major ran down the clock after becoming Prime Minister in 1990 before calling an election in 1992.
However, Labour minister Mike Tapp echoed Mr Farage’s call for a snap general election over the weekend.
Mr Tapp, a loyal supporter of the outgoing Prime Minister, suggested putting forward legislation to force a poll if the governing party decides to change its leader.
He said: “That would stop the constant churn and focus all politicians on delivery instead of workplace politics.
“These endless ‘house of cards’ games would end and the country would benefit. Let’s legislate to focus minds.”
Despite receiving a by-election boost in Aberdeen South last week, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch stopped short of calling for an immediate snap poll.
She instead demanded an early election if Mr Burnham fails to set out a funding plan for defence.
The Leader of the Opposition said: “We should have a general election if Andy Burnham is not able to set out how he is going to keep our country safe.
“I have made an offer to Andy Burnham, saying I will help him with 170 Conservative votes, because we know that the Labour Party is now the welfare party.
“Most of their backbenchers only care about welfare, not defence, so I’m happy to work with him on that.”
Sir Keir, who revealed he will support whoever succeeds him as Prime Minister, confirmed he will stay on as Prime Minister pending any leadership contest.
Speaking on the steps of Downing Street, Sir Keir said: “Every decision I have taken has been about putting the country I love first.
“That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party. I have spoken to His Majesty the King this morning to inform him of my decision.
“I will ask the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party with nominations opening on July 9 and completed by the summer recess.
“In the case of a contest, this will ensure a new leader is in place before Parliament returns in September.
“I will remain in post as Prime Minister until the contest is complete and I will do everything I can to ensure an orderly handover of power.”
