Andy Burnham: 'King of the North' with eyes on the top job

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Andy Burnham: 'King of the North' with eyes on the top job13 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleBecky MortonPolitical reporterGetty ImagesAndy Burnham is no stranger to Labour leadership contests. More than 10 years ago he ran twice, unsuccessfully, for the top job. Now he's backed by many Labour MPs as the party's best chance of recovery, after months of languishing in the polls and a devastating set of election results.

He's not an MP - a requirement to stand as Labour leader. In January, he was knocked back by Labour's ruling national executive committee (NEC) when he sought to stand in a by-election. But he has now managed to find a Labour MP willing to stand down to give him a chance to get back to Westminster to challenge Sir Keir Starmer.

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It is not a done deal. Sir Keir has said he will not seek to block Burnham from standing in Josh Simons' Makerfield constituency. But he will still need to be selected as a candidate by the local party and then win a by-election in a seat where Reform UK came second by 5,399 votes at the 2024 general election and swept the board at last week's local elections.

In a statement, Burnham said: "I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times. "We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again. "He also made it clear that, if he is selected, he would run on his record as mayor of Greater Manchester, where he has been elected three times with successive landslides, vowing to "make politics work properly for people" across the UK.

Getty ImagesBurnham appeared alongside Sir Keir Starmer during a visit by the PM to Ashton-under-Lyne in AprilBorn in Liverpool in 1970, Burnham grew up in Culcheth, a quiet commuter belt village in Cheshire, near Warrington. His father, a BT engineer, and his mother, a GP receptionist, were both staunch Labour supporters and he developed an early interest in politics. Burnham has described how he was inspired to join the Labour Party at the age of 14, after being moved by the TV drama, Boys from the Blackstuff, about life on the dole in Liverpool.

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A lifelong Everton fan, his friends remember Burnham as a competitive, sports-mad child, who was a fast bowler for Lancashire schoolboys cricket team. At school, the local Roman Catholic comprehensive, his English teacher recalls how he stood to be a Labour candidate in mock elections - and won by a landslide. Burnham and his two brothers were the first in their family to go to university, with Andy studying English at Cambridge.

In his book, Head North, Burnham wrote that he "struggled to feel part of things" at university and felt like an "imposter". However, the music-lover - who is a fan of northern indie bands like The Smiths and The Stone Roses - said his "growing interest in Manchester music gave me an identity and an advantage".

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.