Andy Burnham said he is being urged by MP’s to challenge Sir Keir Starmer and replace him as the Labour Party leader.
With the Prime Minister rocking from losing his director of communications, Nigel Farage rising and his own popularity plummeting it may be time for the current Mayor of Manchester to cross the Rubicon and claim the throne.
After two failed leadership bids is it third time lucky for Burnham?
Here, we explain all you need to know about the so-called King of the North, and his potential return to Westminster.
Burnham’s background
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Burnham was born in Aintree, Lancashire, the son of a telephone engineer and a receptionist. He was educated at Catholic school before studying English at the University of Cambridge.
He has previously described himself as ‘catholic by upbringing’ though ‘not particularly religious’.
A whistle stop tour of Burnham’s political career
Joining the Labour Party when he was just 15, Burnham has had many political roles across his lengthy career.
He begun as a researcher, then joined the Transport and General workers Union. After the 1997 election he was a parliamentary officer for the NHS Confederation, before becoming an administrator.
Burnham was then made a special adviser to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, until he was elected as an MP in 2001.
He sat as an MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester from 2001 to 2017. In 2005 he was promoted to the Government, serving as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State.
In Gordon Brown’s cabinet of 2007, he was appointed Chief Secretary of the Treasury. In a cabinet reshuffle in 2008, he was promoted to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Again, in 2009, he was promoted, this time to Secretary of State for Health.
After serving in the opposition, Burnham announced he would be running for Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2016, which meant he had to resign as Shadow Home Secretary, and he was elected to the position in 2017.
Burnham has described his experience of Westminster as a ‘journey’ that led him back home to Manchester.
What does Burnham do now?
Burnham remains the Mayor for Greater Manchester. He has tackled issue such as homelessness, public transport and investigated child exploitation in Manchester and Rochdale.
He lives in Warrington with his wife, Marie-France van Heel (who is Dutch), his won and two daughters. Burnham and his wife have been together since university.
Where does he stand?
In the interview with The Telegraph, Burnham set out a general manifesto of policies that he said would ‘turn the country around’, which included tax cuts for lower earners and greater taxes for the highest-paid.
He proposed borrowing £40bn to build council houses and higher council tax on expensive homes in London and the South-East.
Burnham also told the Telegraph the current government’s education vision ‘hasn’t really been clear’ and called for a greater focus on technical education.
In an interview with The New Statesman, Burnham advocated for ‘public control’. Though he acknowledges it will be expensive, he wants to see housing, water, energy and the railways returned to public ownership.
Burnham launched the Mainstream group in September, with the aim of making Labour more left-wing amid allegations that Starmer had shifted the party to the right.
The Mayor identifies as a socialist and earlier this year was part of a group of Labour members who called for the Government to recognise the state of Palestine.
He brought buses back under control and capped a single bus fare at £2 in the process, even as Starmer’s government raised the nationwide cap to £3.
Burnham introduced A Bed Every Night programme, helping thousands off the streets and cutting rough sleeping.
Why’s there talk now of him returning to Westminster?
There has been ongoing speculation surrounding Burnham’s potential return to government and some have suggested he is looking for a seat in parliament launch a plan to get Starmer out.
On September 24, Burnham declined to rule out challenging Starmer ahead of May’s local elections.
Burnham said the Labour party leadership was for ‘other people in Westminster to make a decision about’ and revealed that MPs had contacted him throughout the summer asking him to run.
He also took swipes at the PM directly, saying the government has caused a‘climate of fear’ amongst MPs. Burnham also accused Labour’s leadership of creating ‘alienation and demoralisation’ within the party.
Polls reveal he is more popular with the public and the Labour party than Starmer.
The New Statesman recently noted the stark contrast between the two, highlighting the relatability of Burnham when compared to Starmer.
How would Burnham’s run for leadership work?
To run for leader of the Labour party for a third time (he lost to Ed Milliband in 2010 and Jeremy Corbyn in 2015), Burnham would have to resign from his position of Mayor of Greater Manchester.
He would then have to win a seat in parliament in a by-election, and gain nominations from at least 80 Labour MP’s.
In terms of next steps, Burnham told The Telegraph he will be making multiple appearances at Labour’s party conference next week. He outlined that he will be ‘offering a plan for the country and a plan to beat Reform.’
Watch this space.