King of The North: Andy Burnham.
Will Manchester Mayor Return to Westminster?
What Sadiq Khan is to the south as the Mayor of London, so Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is to the north. Can one compare Burnham with Khan? Well, both are former Labour MPs, and whether you voted for them or not, they have been the face of the cities they oversee.
Andy Burnham was first elected Mayor of Greater Manchester in May 2017. He was re-elected in May 2021, and he won a third term in May 2024. His wife is Dutch, Marie-France Van Heel. They met while studying at Cambridge. They have 3 children, one son and two daughters. Burnham is not Mancunian by birth. He was born in a place called Culcheth, a commuter area between Liverpool and Manchester. He attended a local Roman Catholic Comprehensive school; later, he studied English at Cambridge University. He joined the Labour Party as a teenager at 14 in 1984. He was elected as the MP for Leigh from 2001 until he became Mayor in 2017.
Mr. Burnham has held ministerial roles under Labour governments. Such as the Home Office, Health, Treasury, Culture, Media and Sport. Also, various shadow cabinet roles. Burnham has stood twice to be leader of the Labour Party and lost. However, he has never given up on plans to return to Westminster. But first, he would need to be elected back to parliament as an MP before he could run to replace Sir Keir Starmer.
Interviewed recently about a return to parliament and running for Labour leader Mr. Burnham didn't seem to rule anything out. Asked by BBC Radio Manchester, he said it is his "full intention" to remain as Mayor until he is up for reelection in 2028. However, he also added that "If events change, I'm not necessarily going to be stuck religiously to one way of thinking". Saying that "the country is in a reasonably turbulent place". Asked directly if he did indeed still harbour leadership ambitions, he replied, "Never ruled out going back to Westminster". Adding "I watch what is going on down there, so I'm not going to say I'm not".
If a by-election were to come about in Greater Manchester, would he go for it? Would the temptation to stand in such a by-election be too tempting for Mr. Burnham? Or would he remain loyal to his Manchester voters and see out his term until 2028? Right now, Mr. Burnham's lot as Manchester Mayor seems a happy one. Here's what Andy has done for Manchester:
1. Transport reform.
2. Tackling housing and homelessness.
3. Health and well-being measures to integrate health and care services.
4. Provide more education and skills.
5. Launched an ambitious strategic idea in the Greater Manchester Strategy 2025-2035 plan. For more affordable housing, improving transport, etc.
Mr. Burnham remains popular in the Greater Manchester area. His popularity amongst Mancunians is 59% support. As opposed to an unfavourability of 15%. In the same poll, 48% of people thought he had changed Manchester for the better. Conversely, 10% thought Andy Burnham had made it worse.
In a national YouGov poll in mid-2025, about 32% of Britons viewed him favourably. In contrast 25% viewed him unfavourably. Support in the Labour Party was 57%. With members seeing him as the leader if Keir Starmer were not the leader. With 29% making him their number one choice.
Politically speaking Mr. Burnham identifies as a socialist, and he is regarded as being left of centre or soft left. ChatGPT described him as a populist, socially conscious, and a moderate pragmatist.
So for the moment, Andy Burnham is happy being the Mayor of Greater Manchester. Where his political future will take him, one cannot say; however, keep watching this space!
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About the Creator
Nicholas Bishop
I am a freelance writer currently writing for Blasting News and HubPages. I mainly write about politics. But have and will cover all subjects when the need arises.
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