A Labour grandee urged Andy Burnham to 'be brave' yesterday and call an election to 'help restore trust in politics'.

Former home secretary Alan Johnson warned the ex-mayor of Greater Manchester against making the same 'mistake' as Gordon Brown when he took over from Tony Blair in 2007.

Nigel Farage also demanded yesterday that the country goes to the polls following Sir Keir Starmer's resignation – and declared that Reform UK was ready to let voters decide who should govern.

Mr Farage called for an election 'at the soonest possible date' because Mr Burnham would not have 'any kind of meaningful mandate' if, as expected, he becomes prime minister.

Mr Johnson told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'Andy should go to the country. MPs won't like it. It'll be a very bold thing to do. It might set a precedent that others in the future will have to follow, but it will help restore trust in politics, and that is Andy's big plus.

'Because if he doesn't go to the country, he has got to follow the mandate and the manifesto of Keir Starmer and he's criticised big chunks of that.' 

Citing Mr Blair's handover of his prime-ministership to Mr Brown in June 2007 without a general election, Mr Johnson said Mr Burnham should 'not make Gordon Brown's mistake in 2007 – and I was there watching it from ringside'.

He added: 'Go to the country and announce that maybe during his speech at conference in September. Be brave, Andy, be brave.'

Yesterday, Sir Keir and his frontbenchers were left red-faced over previous comments in which they demanded a general election from the Tories after Boris Johnson was forced out.

Mr Burnham and a number of his key backers also demanded a national vote following Liz Truss's resignation. 

But he got a taste of his own medicine when he faced demands to call an immediate general election before he arrived at the House of Commons.

Asked by reporters at Euston station about his call for an election after Rishi Sunak succeeded Ms Truss, Mr Burnham brushed the question aside. 

Insisting that his 'priority today' was to be sworn in 'as the MP for Makerfield', he said: 'I think you're talking several hurdles ahead there.'

But Mr Farage wasted no time in demanding a general election after Sir Keir announced he would step down yesterday morning, saying that he had had 'enough of waiting around'.

Lumping the Tories and Labour together as 'the uni-party', he added: 'Britain needs change, real change, not another washed-up has-been shoved into place by the uni-party.

'If Labour thinks it can shove another professional politician into No 10, it has another think coming. Reform is ready for an election, and we are ready to deliver radical change.'

Meanwhile, the Government's political opponents took delight in highlighting previous demands for an early election from Labour ministers including David Lammy, Lucy Powell and Rachel Reeves.

Following the collapse of Ms Truss's short-lived premiership, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband – who has become a key confidant of Mr Burnham in recent weeks – branded the Tories 'unfit to govern' and said: 'We need a general election now.' Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner – who is expected to get a plum job under Mr Burnham – said the Tories had 'crowned' Mr Sunak. 

She added: 'He has no mandate, no answers and no ideas. Nobody voted for this. The public deserve their say on Britain's future through a general election.'

Mr Burnham himself said: 'We need to start demanding a general election at the end of this Tory leadership election.'

But during campaigning in Makerfield, Mr Burnham's spokesman expressly ruled out taking the country to the polls early if he became prime minister.

The debate raged among Labour MPs yesterday, however, with Mary Glindon warning that Labour would be viewed as 'hypocrites' if an election was not held. 

The MP for Newcastle East and Wallsend said: 'Unlike the Tories, we won't get away with not calling a general election. I don't think so. We are hypocrites.'

This sentiment was even echoed by some in Government, with Home Office minister Mike Tapp calling for a change in the law to guarantee a general election if a party forces its PM out early.