As Andy Burnham is barred from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election, the Mirror takes a look at the Manchester mayor’s rise to power, from humble origins to ‘King of the North’
PM Keir Starmer defends blocking Andy Burnham
It’s been a dramatic few days for Andy Burnham, who has been blocked from standing in a crunch Gorton and Denton by-election.
On Saturday, January 24, the Manchester mayor announced he had applied to Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) for permission to seek selection for the contest, after current MP Andrew Gwynne revealed he would be standing down for health reasons. Expressing pride in the Greater Manchester region, Lancashire-born Burnham declared: “I have come to the conclusion that this is the moment to mount the strongest possible defence of what we stand for and what we have built in this city over many generations.”
However, Burnham’s ambitions have been short-lived, with Members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) yesterday (Sunday, January 25) voting to bar him from stepping down as Greater Manchester Mayor. A core panel, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, voted 8-1 against Burnham, citing the cost to taxpayers of running an unexpected mayoral race to replace him as one key reason.
In a statement, Burnham, 56, said: “I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us. To whoever is Labour ’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support, and I will be there whenever you need me.”Tomorrow I return with full focus to my role as Mayor of GM, defending everything we have built in our city-region over many years. I decided to put myself forward to prevent the divisive politics of Reform from damaging that. We are stronger together, and let’s stay that way.”
READ MORE: Keir Starmer breaks silence on Andy Burnham decision as Labour anger grows
The mayor then went on to allege: “PS – The fact that the media was informed of the NEC decision before I was tells you everything you need to know about the way the Labour Party is being run these days. You would think that over 30 years of service would count for something, but sadly not.”
A Labour source has described this claim as “categorically untrue”. Meanwhile, Sir Keir has today (January 26) broken his silence on the matter, asserting that while Burnham is doing a “great job” in his role as mayor, allowing him to run for a Westminster seat would “divert our resources” from Labour campaigns in the upcoming May elections.
Sir Keir told members of the press: “We have really important elections already across England for local councils, very important elections in Wales for the Government there and very important elections in Scotland for the Scottish Government that will affect millions of people. And we’re out campaigning on the cost of living, and they’re very important elections.”
While full of compliments for Burnham, politics buffs undoubtedly won’t have forgotten the supposed rift between the politicians, with the mayor long suspected of having his eye on the top job. While this setback will likely come as a bitter blow for Burnham and his supporters, it isn’t the first time he’s had to face a challenge.
Here, the Mirror examines the life of Burnham, from his working-class roots to his time at Cambridge University and Westminster, and his Dutch wife and their three children.
Working-class roots
Born in Liverpool to a BT engineer father and a GP receptionist mother, Burnham was raised in the peaceful Cheshire village of Culcheth on Warrington’s outskirts. The family relocated after his father secured a new position in Manchester city centre.
The working-class middle son attended a local Roman Catholic comprehensive school and was a devoted Everton FC fan as well as a remarkably fast bowler for Lancashire Schoolboys. He had a passion for music, particularly Manchester legends The Smiths, whom he watched perform live at Salford University during The Queen Is Dead tour, along with The Stone Roses.
By his own account, Burnham found it challenging to balance both aspects of his character – being studious whilst enjoying an active social life. “It was hard to be both a good student and one of the lads,” he wrote in his book, Head North. However, his father, Roy Burnham, once spoke with pride about how the family recognised their intelligent, athletic and well-liked son was ‘destined for better things’.
Speaking to The Liverpool Echo in 2010, during Burnham’s bid for Labour party leadership, he said: “He has always been driven. He mixed a lot. He played a lot of sports and was popular when he was younger. But he was rigid in his studies. At a certain time in the evening, he would go and do his homework. He was rigid in that. We sort of knew early on that he was destined for better things.”
His political calling emerged early too, with the lifelong Labour member previously revealing to the Mirror how he was inspired to join the party aged just 14, after watching the BBC TV drama, Boys From The Blackstuff, which depicted the struggles of people during the Thatcher years.
University struggles
The bright pupil, who excelled academically, had initially set his sights on learning Spanish and working as a courier, but an inspiring English teacher steered him towards a different route, eventually leading to him studying English at the prestigious Cambridge University.
“I was going to do Spanish, but my English teacher got through to me. Mr Harrington, Steve Harrington, amazing man, I’m still in touch with him, a real life-changing man. He boosted my confidence at a time when I didn’t and wouldn’t have thought I could go to Cambridge,” he once said. He particularly lifted me from a student who could have done reasonably well and gone to a decent university to somebody who achieved much more than I thought I could.”
His siblings, Nick and John, were equally influenced by their education and now both work as teachers in the Warrington area. While Burnham’s family would certainly have been immensely proud when he secured his place at Cambridge, he has acknowledged that he “struggled to feel part of things”, writing in his book: “But my growing interest in Manchester music gave me an identity and an advantage.”
Marriage and children
During his time at Cambridge, Burnham crossed paths with his future wife, Marie-France van Heel. Affectionately called Frankie, the professional marketing executive hails from the Netherlands and has also lived in Belgium. Coming from a family of football enthusiasts herself, the two quickly formed a connection. Whilst residing in a modest two-up, two-down near Brixton, the Burnhams welcomed their first son, Jimmy, in March 2000.
However, it wasn’t all plain sailing. Burnham has since confessed that they hadn’t intended to start their family at that point, as he “felt stability was important”. Despite the unexpected timing, the young family made it work, with Burnham balancing his emerging parliamentary career and new fatherhood. In October of that year, he and Frankie tied the knot, shortly before he was selected as an MP.
It was then that they relocated back up North, where their daughters Rosie and Annie were born. Speaking candidly about the challenges of juggling his career and family life, Burnham admitted, “It’s very hard to spend time away from the family. Partly what rooted me was that my mum and dad were always there. I just hope the dysfunctional side of the job doesn’t put my children off what I do. Whatever they do, it doesn’t matter, as long as they fulfil themselves as people. Although I know the family would find it easier if they came home and said they were going to vote Tory rather than that they had decided to support Liverpool..”
‘Trying the Westminster thing’
Before stepping into the political arena, Burnham pursued journalism, undertaking an unpaid internship at the Middleton Guardian after university. It was during this period that the stark differences between himself and his Cambridge peers became evident once more.
Burnham revealed: “Nearly everything I do has a route into it from something that has happened to me in my life, practically all the things I’d say. And the reason I was so onto unpaid internships is for this reason. I saw people literally fly out of Cambridge into the Times, the Guardian, and I’m thinking, ‘well, where’s my Times and Guardian internship?’.”
While working without pay was hardly ideal, it served as a crucial stepping stone for the young Burnham, who subsequently found work with trade publications including Tank World and Passenger World Management. His political journey began in earnest in 1994 when Labour minister Tessa Jowell brought him on board as a researcher.
He then moved to the Transport and General Workers’ Union. Following former PM Tony Blair’s election victory, he secured a short-term role as parliamentary officer for the NHS Confederation, alongside an administrative position with the government’s Football Task Force.
By 1998, Burnham had been appointed special adviser to Culture Secretary Chris Smith, and three years later, in 2001, he won the Leigh parliamentary seat. His career accelerated rapidly under Gordon Brown’s leadership from 2007, when he became a Cabinet standout, progressing through roles as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Culture Secretary and Health Secretary.
During the Brown era, Burnham also gained recognition for spearheading a campaign that ultimately resulted in the second Hillsborough inquiry. In 2010, he launched his first attempt at Labour leadership, but was ultimately defeated by Ed Miliband, serving under him as Shadow Education Secretary and Shadow Health Secretary. During this period, Burnham leveraged his role to campaign against NHS cuts.
In 2015, Burnham mounted another Labour leadership challenge but finished runner-up to Jeremy Corbyn. He had a brief stint under Corbyn as Shadow Home Secretary before stepping down in 2016 following his election as Manchester’s Mayor. Speaking to the New Statesman, he admitted he found Westminster’s culture challenging. Reflecting on his early London days, he recalled, “sort of trying to do the Westminster thing… You know, be loyal and get on.”
‘King of the North’
In his book, Burnham recounted the pivotal moment when he and Liverpool Mayor Steve Rotheram decided to leave Parliament whilst at a Westminster pub, determined to ‘build something different from the outside’ by pursuing mayoral roles. Throughout his mayoral tenure, Burnham has consistently championed the interests of the North West, bringing essential services like buses back into public ownership.
Perhaps Burnham’s defining moment arrived in 2020, when he confronted Whitehall during the Covid pandemic, standing firm whilst negotiating a financial support package to assist local residents through those extraordinarily challenging times. In a rousing speech delivered in Manchester city centre, which earned Burnham the nickname ‘King of the North’, the Mayor declared: “What we’ve seen today is a deliberate act of levelling down. I don’t believe we can proceed through this pandemic by grinding people down. We need to carry them with us, not crush their spirit.”
Since then, Burnham has consistently championed Manchester’s status as a vital city. In a recent New Statesman interview, he highlighted the explosive growth of Greater Manchester towns like Stockport, noting: “This country’s failure to support one of its major cities [to grow] at this scale is mind-boggling.”
During the same conversation, Burnham explored his political philosophy of “Burnhamism”, which he characterised as “aspirational socialism”. Describing it as “It’s the Manchester way”, he stressed the importance of secure housing and affordable services, saying: “That’s what Britain had in the postwar period. We’ve got to get back to speaking to working-class ambition.”
Salary and home
The Institute for Government website reveals that Burnham takes home an annual salary of £114,000. He resides in Leigh, Greater Manchester, alongside his wife and three children. Whilst he appears content in his mayoral position, supporters believe his political trajectory will continue upwards. His blueprint for a “Burnhamism” government was recently detailed in a New Statesman interview, published back in September.
Burnham declared that “the old way of doing things in Westminster with minimal change” held little appeal, yet emphasised his readiness to “work with anybody who wants to… put in place a plan to turn the country around.” He added, “I’m happy to play any role. I am ready to play any role in that. Yes. Because the threat we’re facing is increasingly an existential one.”
Advocating for greater public ownership of housing, energy, water and rail infrastructure, and urging a return to “get back to speaking to working-class ambition”, Burnham suggested he would be open to collaborating with the Lib Dems and even Jeremy Corbyn. When pressed about his own aspirations for Downing Street, Burnham seemed to leave the door ajar, remarking: “I stood twice to be leader of the Labour Party. And I think that tells you, doesn’t it?”
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com
READ MORE: Women share ‘wow’ face transformation after trying £11 Boots spot cream