# England’s football triumph masks Burnham’s undemocratic path to power, says Littlejohn

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/richard-littlejohn-andy-capps-playing-fantasy-football-politics-in-a-very-undemocratic-coup/
- Published: 2026-07-07T06:47:08+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-01T21:34:57+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/columnists/article-15957459/RICHARD-LITTLEJOHN-Andy-Fantasy-Football-politics-undemocratic-coup.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Americas, Football, Sport, UK, World

## Key points

- Littlejohn condemns Andy Burnham becoming PM without an election as undemocratic.
- He objects to plans to scrap first-past-the-post voting.
- England's World Cup win against Mexico is said to be distracting the public.

## Summary

In his Daily Mail column, Richard Littlejohn attacks the prospect of Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister without a general election, characterising it as an "anti-democratic coup". Writing against the backdrop of England's World Cup semi-final or final win over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium, he argues that the sporting celebrations are distracting the public from a constitutional matter he considers deeply troubling: an unelected leader taking power on the strength of a single by-election win in Makerfield, near Wigan.

Littlejohn objects in particular to reports that Burnham plans to scrap the first-past-the-post voting system in a way that could permanently block Reform UK or the Conservatives from forming a government, asking who gave him a mandate to do so. Drawing a contrast with a July 4 trip to Florida for the World Cup, he praises American patriotism and democratic norms, arguing that Americans "rally round the flag" and that any attempt to remove a serving US president mid-term and install an unelected mayor would spark uproar. He also complains that overt displays of British patriotism now risk being treated as far-right.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.