Andy Burnham, “King of the North”, is now our prime-minister-in-waiting. His triumph at the Makerfield by-election means he will now seek to enter any Labour leadership contest to replace Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street.
Nothing is ever certain in politics, but for a Labour MP, Burnham is unusually popular. He’s a golden boy in Manchester, with Oasis soundtracking his by-election campaign, and Noel Gallagher calling him “a good lad”.
In a pub in Golborne, about five minutes’ walk from the Burnhams’ residence, locals tell me they say hello to him when he’s on his morning jog, or walking the dog, or on the train into the city centre. That he can hardly do his Asda food shop without being pulled aside by the many locals who want his help.
Shorts
His wife of 26 years, Marie-France van Heel, on the other hand, flies below the radar. We know very little about her – she’s deleted all her social media and LinkedIn, and has done zero interviews – yet she may soon become one half of the most powerful couple in the UK.
