Andy Burnham: The ‘King of the North’ who could be the next prime minister

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, dubbed the “King of the North”, could be on the verge of launching a leadership challenge against Sir Keir Starmer.

Mr Burnham is seen as one of the leading candidates to take over from Sir Keir Starmer and he took the first step on that journey with victory in Thursday’s Makerfield by-election.

If he launches a leadership race, it would not be Mr Burnham’s first bid for the party’s top job; The former New Labor secretary has run for leadership twice before, losing to Ed Miliband and then Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Burnham has made it clear he will challenge the prime minister if he manages to appeal to voters in Makerfield. Sir Keir has vowed to remain in office even if the leadership race begins.

So who is Mr Burnham and how did he get to the point where he can challenge the prime minister?

Who is Andy Burnham?

Mr Burnham is the government-educated son of an IT engineer and a receptionist. He joined the Labor Party at 15 and then went to Cambridge University, rising through the political ranks to become one of the most senior and successful elected Labor politicians outside Parliament.

Mr Burnham, a former special adviser to Mr Blair’s culture minister Chris Smith, was one of New Labour’s rising stars.

Shortly after his election in 2001, he became a parliamentary aide to the then home secretary, David Blunkett, a sign that he was being groomed for bigger things.

This was followed by ministerial posts, first as a junior minister at the Home Office and then at the Department of Health, before Mr Brown moved to Number 10, before being brought into the cabinet as principal secretary to the Treasury.

But it was as culture secretary that he tackled an issue that became a cornerstone of his career: the fight for justice for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster.

Everton supporter Mr Burnham was watching his team play Norwich when he learned of the resulting romance at Hillsborough in 1989 that would eventually kill 97 Liverpool fans.

Twenty years later, the heckler interrupted his speech at an anniversary event at Anfield to demand justice for the victims.

This prompted him to elevate Hillsborough in cabinet and led to the establishment of the Hillsborough Independent Panel (HIP); Three months later, the Home Office announced that all information to be examined by the panel had been fully disclosed.

HIP’s 2012 report criticized the accusations leveled at supporters, prompting the then prime minister David Cameron to offer a “profound apology” in the House of Commons for the “double injustice”.

Labor was defeated in the 2010 general election and, following Mr Brown’s resignation, Mr Burnham made his first bid for the leadership and lost to Mr Miliband.

He was defeated again in a leadership contest in 2015; This time he was defeated by Mr Corbyn, who then appointed him to the position of shadow home secretary.

During this term he made a speech in the House of Commons condemning South Yorkshire Police over Hillsborough, which received rare applause.

Serving in Mr Corbyn’s shadow cabinet led to a criticism often heard within Labor ranks: that Mr Burnham, who supported Mr Corbyn and New Labour, was a weather vane who went with the flow to ensure his own electoral success.

When did he become mayor of Greater Manchester?

Despite having been MP for Leigh since 2001 and holding ministerial posts under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Mr Burnham has often found himself at odds with the Westminster establishment.

Mr Burnham stood down as an MP in 2017 calling for a “real change” in national politics to rebalance power to the regions, saying British politics was in a “crisis” and that the Westminster system was “a major part of the problem”.

He later became Greater Manchester’s first metro mayor, winning more than 60 per cent of the vote.

In his first week in office, he outlined plans to end rough sleeping conditions in the area by 2020 and announced he would donate 15 per cent of his £110,000 monthly salary to launch a homelessness fund that will support frontline projects.

The 2020 goal was not met, but he continued to work to reduce homelessness in the area.

His apparent disagreement with then-prime minister Boris Johnson over Covid-19 pandemic funding earned him the nickname “King of the North”.

Mr Burnham won a second term with a higher vote share in 2021, driven by increased turnout compared to the first election.

It was a rare victory in Labour’s then rapidly collapsing “red wall” in the north. His election campaign materials relied heavily on his own brand of success, not on Labour’s red rose or party leader.

The public transport system was established in Greater Manchester in 2023, bringing local bus services (Bee Network) back into public ownership with more routes and lower fares.

Winning a third term with 63.4 percent of the vote in 2024 appeared likely to contribute to another landslide election victory.

The 56-year-old leader also earned respect for his handling of two terrorist attacks during his time as mayor. The Manchester Arena was the target of a suicide attack just weeks after it started in 2017, and the Heaton Park synagogue was attacked in October 2025.

Why did he decide to return to Westminster?

In January, Mr Burnham positioned himself for a potential return to Parliament by appealing to the NEC, saying: “During my nine years as mayor, I have learned that Manchester cannot be everything it needs to be without similar changes at a national level.

“That’s why I feel the need to go back.”

He has also criticized Labor under Sir Keir Starmer, saying the party’s loss to the Greens in Gorton and Denton revealed “the full depth of the chasm between people and Westminster politics”.

Even after securing the seat of Makerfield by more than 9,000 votes, it remains to be seen whether Mr Burnham can turn his popularity in the north into real support in Westminster and indeed across the country.