Bev Craig, who is on course to replace Mr Burnham as mayor of Greater Manchester, said he was spinning discs at her birthday party when the guests made their feelings felt.

In the second part of a two-part profile, Josh Halliday charts PM-in-waiting’s journey northward, where as mayor he revelled in his Covid-era popularity – and changed his approach…

From ‘warm and optimistic’ to occasionally a ‘stubborn shithouse', Britain’s next prime minister elicits strong opinions