It comes amid fears that Mr Burnham's closest advisers and allies don't understand the countryside, while one MP warned him that poverty in the South can be just as bad as the North.

Burnham gave a radical-sounding speech in Manchester today, but he needs to be braver

Make no mistake, when Andy Burnham said he intends to rip up the Westminster establishment by its roots and re-bed it in the North of England, he was being deadly serious.

It comes amid fears that Mr Burnham's closest advisers and allies don't understand the countryside, while one MP warned him that poverty in the South can be just as bad as the…

The right wants to paint Manchesterism in terms of north v south – but poverty everywhere is solved by prioritising the public purse over private pockets, says Guardian columnist…