Britain Backs Burnham, Buries Starmer

Britain delivered a thumping endorsement of Andy Burnham’s early moves while marking down Keir Starmer’s premiership as a net loss. The country lined up almost unanimously behind scrapping digital ID, showed little patience for threats against MPs, and called for wholesale prison reform. Even on the thorniest questions the chamber refused to fracture along familiar lines.

The verdicts

Was scrapping digital ID the right call? found almost nobody willing to defend the scheme, with every age band and every woman who voted lining up behind Burnham’s decision to shelve it in favour of the electricity VAT cut.

After a former MP’s killing put political violence at the top of the news, Should people be arrested for threatening to shoot an MP? saw the chamber reach for the blunt instrument of the law almost unanimously, backing arrest by well over four to one.

Did Starmer leave the country a better place than he found it? drew a brief, unloved verdict: two in five voters credited him with improvement, but a clear majority marked his short tenure down as a net loss.

The chamber that grew up with smartphones proved most sceptical of Should online voting be introduced?, with even the 16-24s voting it down almost unanimously and the wider country following suit by two to one.

Should the prison system in England and Wales be fundamentally reformed? united 16-year-olds and pensioners alike, passing by six to one.

Can Andy Burnham lead Britain after sidelining Starmer supporters in his first Cabinet? split the chamber less than the brutality of the reshuffle suggested, with three in five voters backing his right to clear house.

A clear if not overwhelming majority backed Should junk food advertising be banned before 9pm?, though younger and middle-aged voters stayed genuinely split while the oldest were most convinced.

Should assisted dying be legal in the UK? secured a narrow majority, yet the chamber never settled into a clean generational or ideological line, with the 45-54s most resistant.

Should the UK government pursue deeper devolution to drive economic growth? produced the cleanest non-verdict of the day, the country splitting almost down the middle and No prevailing by a single vote.

The chamber rejected Over time, should National Insurance contributions be increased to fund a lowering of the retirement age? by three to one, with the 55-64s themselves voting down the trade-off almost two to one.

If Argentina were to invade the Falkland Islands again, would you support the use of force to recapture them? drew backing from six in seven voters, a rout rather than a debate.

Should the health element of universal credit be cut for new claimants? saw the country narrowly say no, scrambling usual welfare battle lines along generational lines.

Voting continues today.

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