Andy Burnham, Britain’s Labour candidate for Makerfield, gestures in front of supporters during the by-election in Makerfield, England, Thursday, June 18, 2026 where voters are choosing a new lawmaker with Andy Burnham of the Labour Party as the leading contender.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

LONDON – If events unfold as many in Britain now expect, the country’s next prime minister will be Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor known as “King of the North” – to be appointed, of course, by an actual king, Charles III.

Burnham, 56, is the runaway favorite to become the leader of the ruling Labour Party after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation Monday – just two years after sweeping into office on a commanding election victory.

The scale of the excitement was evident within hours of Starmer’s speech announcing that he would step aside.

Television helicopters tracked Burnham’s train journey to London live – a highly unusual spectacle for a politician who has only just returned to Parliament after winning a by-election last week in the tiny constituency of Makerfield in the north of England.

Last week, as part of that campaign, Burnham stood on a stage with a rival candidate wearing a trash can on his head and another dressed as a fox – a reminder that British democracy has a taste for the eccentric that goes well beyond cucumber sandwiches.

However colorful the supporting cast, all eyes were on Burnham, a plain-speaking politician with easy personal charm, who has cultivated an image as a man equally comfortable in the political corridors of Westminster and in working-class northern England.

After winning the Makerfield by-election – a result that helped trigger the chain of events leading to Starmer’s departure – he was asked by reporters how he felt. “I’m going to go have a pint,” he replied.

Andy Burnham with colleagues from the Parliamentary Labour Party in Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament in central London, as he returns to the House of Commons to take up his seat after winning the Makerfield by-election, Monday June 22, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Until last week, Burnham served as mayor of Greater Manchester, a role he held for nine years and in which he built a reputation as one of Britain’s most influential regional politicians, earning the nickname “King of the North.” Before that, he spent 16 years in Parliament.

For anxious Labour MPs worried about losing their seats, Burnham represents something in short supply in the party: electoral hope. The seat he won, decisively, lies in pro-Brexit territory where Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s anti-immigrant party, had been expected to do well.

Burnham’s supporters point to a record that combines economic growth with left-wing government intervention. Manchester’s skyline became a forest of cranes and skyscrapers during his tenure, while he simultaneously brought the region’s bus network under public control.

Admirers say that he has found a successful blend of pro-business and social-democratic policies, and that beneath his pragmatism lies a strong set of values.

In a 2009 interview with the Guardian, Burnham said that, apart from his family, the three most important things in his life were the Everton football club, the Labour Party and the Catholic Church. In a later interview, he described himself as Catholic, adding, “but I’m not particularly religious now.”

His roots remain an important part of his political identity.

Andrew Murray Burnham was born on Jan. 7, 1970, in Aintree, a suburb of Liverpool, and was raised in Culcheth. His father was a telephone engineer, and his mother worked as a receptionist.

Andy Burnham, front left, is sworn-in as an MP in the House of Common in London, England, Germany, Monday, June 22, 2026. (House of Commons via AP)

He joined Labour at 15 and studied English at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, which is where he met his future wife, the Dutch-born Marie-France Van Heel. They have three children.

That combination – a comprehensive-school upbringing in industrial Lancashire paired with an Oxbridge degree – has become central to his political persona.

Supporters also point to his personal commitment to social causes. Since becoming mayor in 2017, Burnham has donated 15 percent of his salary to charities addressing homelessness.

Critics, however, describe an ambitious politician who is reluctant to take positions that could alienate voters. A supporter of remaining in the European Union, Burnham has modified his rhetoric while representing voters in areas that strongly backed leaving the bloc.

He has expressed support for electoral reform but argued that such changes should not be implemented before the next election.

Defenders counter that this adaptability is one of his greatest strengths. Burnham has successfully served under three very different Labour leaders – Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Jeremy Corbyn – and demonstrated an ability to work across different wings of the party.

He served in Brown’s cabinet as secretary of state for culture, media and sport and as health secretary.

Burnham twice sought the leadership of Labour – finishing fourth in 2010 and second to Corbyn in 2015 – both losses that, in retrospect, look like dress rehearsals for the opportunity in front of him now.

He is expected to claim the keys of No. 10 Downing Street possibly by mid-July. His elevation became a near-certainty after the former health secretary, Wes Streeting, the only other widely discussed contender, bowed out and endorsed Burnham on Monday.

Much is unknown about Burnham. His record is overwhelmingly domestic, focused on transportation, housing and economic development. As mayor he has had little reason to develop detailed foreign policy positions, or to focus on military or national security issues.

Running a city and running a country are very different things.

“He’s been a very successful mayor of Greater Manchester … but this is a huge promotion,” said Jon Tonge, a professor of politics at the University of Liverpool. “This is going from minor league baseball to the big stage.”

For enthusiasts in Labour those gaps are less important than what they see as his great asset – an ability to reconnect with Labour voters the party has struggled to hold onto.

Critics argue that, for all his political skill, he will inherit many of the same challenges that weakened Starmer’s government and led to widespread voter discontent, including a moribund economy.

Tonge cautioned against reading too much into Burnham’s popularity. His ascent does not necessarily mean that “Labour has been electorally rehabilitated,” he said. But Burnham has one clear advantage, he said: “He’s a hard guy to dislike.”