The Manchester years: how Burnham’s rebirth as ‘king of the north’ set him on road to No 10

In the second part of a two-part profile, Josh Halliday charts PM-in-waiting’s journey northward, where as mayor he revelled in his Covid-era popularity – and changed his approach to politics Part one: From Cambridge ‘impostor’ to New Labour star Andy Burnham was a broken man. In a pub a short walk from parliament, which he had taken to calling “the madhouse”, he plotted his escape over beers with three trusted colleagues. It was late March in 2016. Burnham, the MP for Leigh in Greater Manc...

By Josh Halliday North of England editor