Labour’s continued lead in the opinion polls has fired new talk of a snap election next year to give Andy Burnham a proper mandate to carry out his “Manchesterism” agenda. Labour are now four points ahead of the Faragists who only a few months ago were being tipped as the likely winner of the next general election. But while the “Burnham bounce” has revived Labour’s fortunes in England – at least for the time being – it has done little to boost the party’s standing north of the border. The nationalist constituency remains supreme despite all the scandals that have rocked the SNP in recent times. So, it’s not surprising to hear words of caution from the Labour ranks.

Scottish Labour leadership front-runner Michael Marra openly argues against an early poll. He told the Daily Record that “I think we’ve got a very significant mandate to make the kind of change that the country needs” and that Burnham had made a “brilliant” start, in contrast to Starmer whose relationship with the country had “broken down”. And “there’s lots more to do and I think that we should be taking the time to do it”.

Most however, suspect that Marra’s caution is based on a realistic assessment of Labour’s chances of winning any Scottish election in the near future. Scottish Labour came 4th in two recent by-elections for the Westminster parliament, and many fear an early election would see them reduced to fewer than 10 MPs in the House of Commons.

There’s no constitutional need for Burnham to seek a new mandate. He’s perfectly entitled to carry on until Labour’s term of office – won at the 2024 general election – expires in 2029.

The toppling of prime ministers by their own ranks has become an increasingly familiar feature of British bourgeois
politics these days. Back-stabbing is more or less written into the unwritten code of conduct of both the Conservative & Unionist Party and Labour alike. The names of Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Sir Keir Starmer immediately spring to mind. Those on the losing side always whine. No one cares…