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

The Manchester years: how Burnham's rebirth as “king of the north” set him on road to No 10 revisits Andy Burnham’s political turning point and eventual rise to Britain’s premiership. The article recounts late March 2016, when Burnham, MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester, was reportedly “broken” and planning an escape from Westminster after losing a second Labour leadership bid and feeling aggrieved over the EU campaign. It says a night in a pub near parliament with colleagues led to his decision to leave Westminster and run for the newly created role of Greater Manchester mayor, with Steve Rotheram heading to Liverpool. It then links this local rebound to timing around the World Cup final and suggests Burnham was to become the UK’s seventh prime minister in 10 years. The narrative also describes early 2016 internal Labour turbulence under Jeremy Corbyn and Burnham’s positioning as a mediator while he publicly refused to join the revolt.