By Issy Ronald, CNN
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a meeting with Switzerland's President on the sideline of the G7 summit, in Evian, eastern France, on 16 June.
Far from the gilded halls of Westminster, an unassuming community centre - squat, utilitarian, and with a parking lot whose potholes overflow with water whenever it rains - has become the centre of power in British politics.
Here, in rooms more accustomed to hosting bingo nights, dance classes, sports watch parties and weddings, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham's campaign team is plotting his return to parliament. If he succeeds, it is likely he will challenge Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer for leadership of the centre-left governing Labour Party, and so the premiership.
Burnham is widely perceived to be the country's most popular politician, but he cannot challenge Starmer's crumbling authority unless he is a sitting member of parliament (MP). And without Burnham's presence, no Labour leadership race can really materialise despite seven ministers resigning from Starmer's government since a drubbing for the party in May's local elections, which do not affect the national government but provide an important indication of the public's mood.
