Who is Andy Burnham, the man challenging Keir Starmer for Britain’s top job?

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Who is Andy Burnham, the man challenging Keir Starmer for Britain's top job?

Burnham won a by-election in Makerfield, northwest England, last week an election effectively designed to return him to parliament and clear his path to a leadership challenge.

4 min readJun 22, 2026 10:57 AM IST

First published on: Jun 22, 2026 at 10:54 AM IST

Labour party's Andy Burnham speaks after winning the Makerfield by-election, paving the way for a leadership challenge against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. in Wigan, England. (Photo: AP)

UK is facing a change at the top. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the leader of the centre-left Labour Party who swept to power in a landslide election two years ago, is under mounting pressure to resign with speculation he could announce his departure as soon as Monday. US President Donald Trump added to the pressure on Sunday, claiming on Truth Social that Starmer “will resign,” citing what he called failures on immigration and energy policy.

As Starmer’s authority has crumbled, one name has emerged as the frontrunner to replace him: Andy Burnham, the outgoing mayor of Greater Manchester, who last week won a parliamentary by-election widely seen as clearing his path to a leadership challenge.

Here is what you need to know about the man who could soon be heading to Downing Street.

Who is Andy Burnham?

Burnham, 56, is one of Britain’s most recognisable regional politicians, having served as Greater Manchester’s mayor since 2017. Before that, he spent 16 years as a member of parliament, rising through the ranks of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s governments to become health secretary.

He ran twice for the Labour Party leadership in 2010 and 2015 losing the second contest to veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn.

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How did he get here?

Burnham won a by-election in Makerfield, northwest England, last week an election effectively designed to return him to parliament and clear his path to a leadership challenge. Without a seat in parliament, he was constitutionally unable to run for the Labour leadership, regardless of his popularity.

His Makerfield win defeating the right-wing populist Reform UK party decisively, weeks after Labour was routed in local elections gave him both the eligibility and the momentum to mount a challenge.

Why is he popular?

Burnham built his reputation in Manchester by positioning himself as an outsider to Westminster politics despite spending most of his career inside it.

As mayor, he oversaw improvements to Greater Manchester’s public transport network, launched a major home-building programme, and presided over a period of economic growth in the city region.

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His deputy mayor described him as someone with a clear ambition for Manchester’s economic success and social inclusion.

His nickname, “The King of the North,” captures his appeal: a politician seen as standing up for England’s north against a London-centric political establishment.

What does he actually stand for?

Burnham describes his politics as “Manchesterism” a blend of business-friendly economics and greater public control of essential services such as housing, water, energy and transport.

Think-tank founder Mathew Lawrence, seen as one of the intellectual voices behind Burnham’s platform, describes it as devolving power away from Westminster and ensuring economic growth directly benefits working people rather than trickling down from the top.

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In Labour circles, he is placed on the “soft left” further left than Starmer but well short of Corbyn. An old joke in Labour circles captures his reputation for adaptability: “A Blairite, a Brownite and a Corbynite walk into a pub. The barman says: ‘What’re you drinking, Andy?'”

Not all his pledges as mayor were kept an ambitious promise to end homelessness in Manchester by 2020 fell short. Critics argue that much of the groundwork for his flagship achievements had already been laid before he took office.

He also faces the same fiscal constraints any Labour leader would Britain has limited room to spend, and Burnham has already softened several earlier positions, including on immigration, Brexit and fiscal rules, to appeal to a broader electorate.

(With inputs from CNN)

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