Burnham ruled out possibility of snap parliamentary election in Great Britain

Andy Burnham has insisted he is not tempted to call an early general election, arguing it would throw "the country into a backward-looking process," BBC reports.

During a round of BBC interviews ahead of Labour's annual conference, the prime minister said his focus was on helping people with the cost of living and supporting businesses.

Recent polling has suggested Labour's position has improved since Burnham replaced Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street in July, although Reform UK and the Conservatives are not far behind.

An early general election could give Burnham a mandate of his own and free him from commitments made in Labour's 2024 manifesto. The next general election must be held by August 2029.

Asked by ITV Calendar if the next election would be in 2029, he replied: "Yes, that's when the next election will be.

"All of this speculation on an early election, I can knock that dead."

Burnham heads to his first Labour Party conference as prime minister this weekend, with speculation over the prospect of a snap election likely to be a topic of conversation among some of those attending the event in Liverpool.

Labour has been projected to lose its majority but remain the largest party in the House of Commons if there were a snap election, according to recent polling.

It comes amid media reports that some of the prime minister's advisers have been weighing up the prospect of an election as early as next year.

But Burnham sought to rule out this prospect during interviews with BBC regional political editors ahead of the conference opening on Sunday.

Asked by BBC West political editor Paul Barltrop whether he was tempted to call an early poll, Burnham replied: "No, not particularly. No, I'm not.

"I see all the speculation and it just races ahead," he said. "No election anytime soon. I'm focused on the job as prime minister, doing what I said I would do."