The Manchester years: how Burnham’s rebirth as ‘king of the north’ set him on road to No 10
Why This Matters
The Guardian's profile of Andy Burnham highlights the pivotal role of his tenure as Manchester mayor in shaping his path to potential leadership of the Labour party. This period of his career marked a significant shift in his approach to politics, as he leveraged his popularity during the Covid-19 era to redefine his public image. Burnham's transformation into the "king of the north" has far-reaching implications for the Labour party's future.
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 politicsPart one: From Cambridge ‘impostor’ to New Labour starAndy 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 Manchester, had been in Westminster for 15 years but here, in a politico-free pub on Horseferry Road, his mood was dark. Continue reading...
Curation & Context
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