Andy Burnham has let slip a major clue he may be planning an early general election as Labour rushes to abolish photo ID checks at polling stations.The Prime Minister previously signalled he would avoid calling a new election, saying he would “draw a line” under the political divisions of recent years.Government moves suggest plans for a new vote, with Labour “ramming through” reforms that would let voters use bank cards without photographs as valid ID at polling stations, The Sunday Telegraph reports.Ministers have confirmed bank cards would need to show only the holder’s initials, not their full first name, and would not need to display the owner’s sex.Addressing the policy on GB News this morning, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said Labour was investigating how “we make our elections fairer”. He told Camilla Tominey they were keen to discover if voter photo ID rules led to “unintended consequences of legitimate voters being disenfranchised”.Andy Burnham lets slip major clue Labour is plotting early general election | PAThe Electoral Commission has expressed concern about the proposals, questioning whether weakened checks could undermine public confidence in the voting process.Dr Vijay Rangarajan, the Electoral Commission’s chief executive, cautioned the Government earlier this year he was “concerned about the bank cards proposal”.In testimony before a bill committee, he pointed to rising public backing for the existing system. “We do see growing public support for voter ID — 73 per cent of the British public are now in favour of it, up from 65 per cent in 2024 — and the way we have implemented it has broadly worked,” he said.“Rather than continually changing the system, it would be helpful to allow a broad range of voter IDs which should probably stay with the existing security standard to maintain public trust and give some stability to the system.” Labour is rushing to abolish photo ID checks at polling stations | PADr Rangarajan conceded the policy had “a slight cost”, as it deterred some electors and prevented others from voting altogether.Contained in the Representation of the People Bill, the proposals would effectively dismantle the photo ID requirement the Conservatives introduced in 2023 to strengthen election integrity.The bill also includes provisions to lower the voting age to 16, which Angela Rayner confirmed last year.A clampdown on political donations is also set to be enacted, capping gifts from individuals and companies at £500,000.Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali won the Holborn & St Pancras by-election by 3,364 votes | PAThe change could be retroactively applied to two £36million donations to Reform UK from cryptocurrency billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne.Speculation over plans to call a fresh general election has intensified since Labour’s triumph in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali beat the nearest competitor, Green Party leader Zack Polanski, by 3,364 votes in the north London seat.The defeat left the party, which threatens Labour’s left-wing flank, in further disarray after it sparked outrage following the passage of the “Zionism is racism” motion at its Bristol party conference.Labour has been flying high on the so-called “Burnham bounce” since he succeeded Sir Keir Starmer | PAMeanwhile, Labour have been flying high on the so-called “Burnham bounce” since he succeeded Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.Labour has opened up a lead over Reform UK, with the latest polling average putting Mr Burnham’s party on 28.1 per cent, compared with Nigel Farage’s political outfit on 23.4 per cent.The Conservatives trail in third place at 19.1 per cent, followed by the Greens at 9.9 per cent and the Liberal Democrats at 9.4 per cent.Individual polls put Labour between two and six points ahead of Reform UK.In personal approval ratings, the Prime Minister has also built momentum. A Survation poll puts his net favourability rating at plus 19, with 47 per cent saying they like him compared with 28 per cent who dislike him.An Opinium survey puts his net approval rating at plus eight, while Ipsos and YouGov both record a net favourability score of plus seven.By contrast, Mr Farage scores minus 15 with Survation and minus 26 with Opinium. At the same time, Kemi Badenoch and Mr Polanski also trail the Prime Minister in the latest polling.