In an exclusive interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Andy Burnham explicitly dismissed the idea of an early general election, saying “I’m going to rule it out… I don’t think people want it.”

Explaining his decision, the new prime minister suggested the majority of the electorate “voted for a manifesto” in the last election, and vowed he would “honour that manifesto” with the support of parliamentary colleagues.

Burnham went on to say, “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.”

Andy Burnham: The Laura Kuenssberg Interview will be available across BBC News on Sunday and the interview will be shown in full on Panorama on BBC One on Monday at 20:00 BST.