Labour Leader-in-Waiting Backs Tough Asylum Law, Defying His Own MPs

Andy Burnham, expected to become Labour's next leader, voted for the government's strict new asylum rules on 13 July. Fourteen Labour MPs voted against it anyway. The bill passed 264–90. Burnham's choice to side with the government over his own party signals he won't dramatically soften asylum policy if he takes charge—though his position could shift once he actually leads.