The King of the North is on the march. As Sir Keir Starmer prepares for his conference showdown in Liverpool, the Greater Manchester Mayor is quickly being touted as the Prime Minister’s successor-in-waiting.
While the 180-mile distance between Manchester and the Houses of Parliament poses a stumbling block for Mr Burnham to become the next Labour leader, the ex-Health Secretary’s stint in Tootal Buildings gives him one trump card many politicians never acquire: a legacy.
After being trounced in the 2015 Labour leadership race, Mr Burnham upped sticks to contest the newly formed Greater Manchester Combined Authority, an almost guaranteed tap-in for the boyhood Everton fan dressed in red.
Securing 63.4 per cent of the vote, Mr Burnham hoovered up the votes in all 10 Manchester boroughs.
Despite the so-called “Boris bounce” confounding Labour to a torrid night in May 2021, Mr Burnham’s support grew yet again to hit 67.3 per cent, before dipping back to 63.4 per cent in 2024.
Mr Burnham’s electoral successes have already sounded calls for the ex-Home Secretary to return to Westminster.
A Red Wall Labour source, who is backing Mr Burnham, told GB News: “The rot has set in and the longer you leave it the closer you get to the point of no return.”
One voter, who usually backs the Green Party, also said: “I’m a massive fan of his ambition. I’ve tracked his journey for quite a while.
“Look around, what he’s done to the place is turn Manchester into the beacon of the north.
“He’s combating London, taking the good aspects away from London, bringing it to Manchester, I’m all for it. It’s a breath of fresh air.”
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Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is being touted as a potential Prime Minister-in-waiting
| PAAnother voter added: “I think he’s great. I know he DJs. He’s a man of the people.”
However, having spent more than 3,070 days as Labour’s King of the North, GB News has decided to look beyond the personality politics and track just how much Mr Burnham has transformed Greater Manchester.
Just weeks into taking up his new job, Manchester was rocked by an appalling Islamist terrorist attack.
Suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a nail bomb inside Manchester Arena, killing 22 Ariana Grande attendees and injuring another 1,017.
The attack was the deadliest act of terrorism inflicted on Britain since the 7/7 London bombings.
Mr Burnham quickly acted to bring the community together, holding a vigil and engaging directly with the families of victims.
Mr Burnham quickly acted to bring the community together, holding a vigil and engaging directly with the families of victims
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He said: "These were children, young people and their families that those responsible chose to terrorise and kill. This was an evil act."
Mr Burnham also faced down then-Prime Minister Theresa May, forcing the Tories to fully reimburse the city’s rebuild after initially only pledging to foot half the bill.
However, Mr Burnham’s work as a unifying figure appears to have a lasting impact on Manchester.
A local voter told GB News: “He’s connected it. He’s made it a community. He’s almost given everyone in Manchester a shared certificate, and everyone has bought into the Manchester that we now see.”
There have been some limitations exposed in Mr Burnham’s work, with Greater Manchester Police being found to have misled the Kerslake Report that he had commissioned.
And Mr Burnham has also faced pressure over Greater Manchester’s handling of rampant rape gangs.
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Mr Burnham was anointed 'King of the North' and then that he took the bold step to openly criticise Boris Johnson’s Government outside Manchester Central Library
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Despite backing a national inquiry, Mr Burnham was accused of being too slow in calling for an inquiry with statutory powers.
A local probe also found that gangs in Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale showed that the authorities had failed to protect local children from the heinous crimes committed over the past few decades.
But Mr Burnham’s key moment as a regional figure came during the Covid pandemic.
It was then that Mr Burnham was anointed “King of the North” and then that he took the bold step to openly criticise Boris Johnson’s Government outside Manchester Central Library.
The spat resulted in a £30million funding row, with Mr Burnham forcing the former Prime Minister to boost support from £60million to £90million.
When it comes to economic performance, Mr Burnham’s legacy also remains mixed.
The 807-ft Viadux 2 tower has also given Mr Burnham plenty to brag about, making Manchester home to the tallest building outside of London
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There has been a building blitz in Manchester since Mr Burnham came to power, with the £400million luxury St Michael’s development from ex-Red Devil star Gary Neville.
The 807-ft Viadux 2 tower has also given Mr Burnham plenty to brag about, making Manchester home to the tallest building outside of London.
Mr Burnham’s “build, build, build” crusade, something which has now been adopted by Sir Keir’s Government, helped Manchester’s economic growth outpace a number of its rivals.
Standing at 9.1 per cent in 2023, Manchester was ahead of the West Midlands on 8.4 per cent and London on eight per cent.
Ex-Labour donor Sacha Lord, who advised Mr Burnham as a night-time economy adviser, also hinted at the Greater Manchester Mayor's success when it comes to delivering growth.
He said: "The things he's done for Greater Manchester have been incredible. He's transformed it."
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Bee Network has seen a 14 per cent increase in journeys, punctuality has surged from 66 per cent to 80 per cent and the prices have been capped at £2 for a single fare and £5 for daily travel
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And it is not the same feeling shared towards Sir Keir’s Government from voters in Manchester either.
Mr Lord, who this week announced he will not attend the Labour Party Conference, told GB News: "This Government have let us down so badly that we are now seeing more closures than ever before.
"We're now losing a pub every day because of this Government, because of the way they're taxing us, the national insurance increase - that nobody saw coming by the way - that was the final nail in the coffin."
“This is a Government that just taxes,” one local voter also said. “Where is the entrepreneurship, where is the business growth?
“They’re not allowing any of that. It’s just tax, tax, tax. He’s probably a bit more in touch, a bit more articulate.
“Probably just a bit more popular and in touch with the people.”
However, unemployment rose last year from 5.2 per cent when Mr Burnham came to power to 6.2 per cent.
And economic inactivity still remains above the 21.6 per cent nationwide average at 25 per cent.
However, there has been a surge in white-collar jobs in Manchester, from the services sector to the civil service.
Mr Burnham pledged to introduce Ulez-style Clean Air Zone means certain vehicles face a £60 daily charge
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“These jobs for the future are coming in, an Olympic Games, and the Euros football,” one voter explained.
“That could be interesting. It’s just the investment in the city. You see, these jobs, they’re recruiting globally.”
Tackling rough sleeping and building more affordable homes was at the cornerstone of Mr Burnham’s agenda.
Manchester’s A Bed Every Night scheme, which was introduced in 2018, supports around 520 people per day.
Mr Burnham himself donates 15 per cent of his £118,267 salary to homeless initiatives.
However, rough sleeping has risen from 102 in 2022 to 154 in 2024 and Mr Burnham failed to meet his pledge to end rough sleeping by 2020.
The crisis has not been assisted by Manchester’s battle to build affordable housing.
While Mr Neville’s luxury flats cost up to £6million, the Centre for Cities found Greater Manchester is expected to miss its 23,000 homes housebuilding target.
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Rough sleeping has risen from 102 in 2022 to 154 in 2024 and Mr Burnham failed to meet his pledge to end rough sleeping by 2020
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More than 2,000 families were also been put in temporary accommodation in March of this year, up from 1,566 in 2020.
However, Mr Burnham’s efforts to create a community might be best on show in Manchester’s Bee Network.
England’s third-largest city had been at the mercy of unreliable buses for decades.
Franchises meant there were too many companies, with some return tickets being made worthless if firms switched over services in the middle of the night.
The Bus Services Act enabled Mr Burnham to introduce franchising.
Following a court victory over Stagecoach in March 2022, the Bee Network has seen a 14 per cent increase in journeys, punctuality has surged from 66 per cent to 80 per cent and the prices have been capped at £2 for a single fare and £5 for daily travel.
Voters in Manchester had some strong feelings on Andy Burnham
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But the boost to public transport has not necessarily abated concerns from Manchester’s motorists.
“My only worry about him was about stuff like congestion charges and stuff like that,” a local resident told GB News. “He wasn’t quite transparent at the time.”
Mr Burnham pledged to introduce Ulez-style Clean Air Zone means certain vehicles face a £60 daily charge.
However, following a public backlash, the Manchester Mayor rolled back on the plan.
It has since been revealed that Greater Manchester spent more than £100million on its now-scrapped Clean Air Zone.
However, Sir Keir’s polling woes have left voters and Labour MPs looking towards the “King of the North” as the Prime Minister’s successor-in-waiting.
Andy Burnham missed out on the Labour leadership after losing to Jeremy Corbyn in 2015
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Mr Burnham has claimed that Labour MPs have been in contact urging him to return to Westminster.
More in Common’s polling gurus found that Mr Burnham would give Labour a five-point boost if he replaced Sir Keir.
Such a shift would knock Reform UK off top spot, with Labour opening up a two-point lead.
However, Mr Burnham has been accused of hijacking the Labour Party Conference before the gates in Liverpool even open.
“I think Andy’s f**ked it,” a Labour veteran told GB News. “Labour MPs are fuming because he’s overplayed his hand. It’s totally overshadowed conference and he’s not even an MP.”
Sir Keir also tore into the Greater Manchester Mayor, suggesting Mr Burnham is merely Labour’s version of Liz Truss.
Sir Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham have exchanged barbs ahead of the Labour Party Conference
| PASpeaking ahead of the Labour Party Conference, the Prime Minister said: "I'm not going to get drawn in to commenting on the personal ambitions of the Mayor, but I do want to be really clear about our fiscal rules because economic stability is the foundation stone of this Government.
"It was three years ago this week that we had the Liz Truss experiment, where she abandoned fiscal rules, in her case for tax cuts, and the result was a disaster for working people.
"The same would be true if you abandoned fiscal rules in favour of spending, and I'm not prepared to ever have that inflicted on working people again."
The warning stems from Mr Burnham’s risk-inclined mini-manifesto.
Mr Burnham, who received Sir Keir's backing in the 2015 Labour Party leadership contest, backs hikes council tax on southern homes, borrowing £40billion to build council houses, cutting income tax for low earners and bringing back a 50p rate for the highest paid.
While the message might struggle to chime with Labour’s newfound support in the South, Mr Burnham’s tax-hiking message does not appear to deter his northern loyalists.