Who is 'King of the North' and would-be prime minister Andy Burnham?

He's the would-be Labour leader and prime minister who has stood for the leadership unsuccessfully twice before.

He's a former special adviser parachuted into a safe seat in 2001 who declared when he stood for leader in 2010: "No more special advisers parachuted into safe seats."

He's the Liverpool-born Everton supporter who was booed at the Hillsborough disaster 20th anniversary memorial at Liverpool's Anfield football ground.

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And he's the Greater Manchester mayor who, when re-elected in 2024, insisted: "I'm here for a full third term. I'm not planning to head back to Westminster any time soon."

Yet this self-styled "King of the North", Andy Burnham, is seen by many Labour MPs and activists as their salvation and the party's best hope - if he's allowed to run for leader.

He's certainly popular. Opinion polls consistently put him well ahead of Sir Keir Starmer and other Labour leadership rivals. He's the only major Labour politician viewed favourably by voters.

For example, a YouGov poll suggested 36% of voters view him positively and 27% unfavourably. Wes Streeting's rating was minus 20, Angela Rayner's minus 31 and the PM's minus 45.

Another YouGov poll suggested 27% believe he would do a good job as PM compared with 22% a poor job. Among Labour voters it was 48%, compared with 60% who think Sir Keir is doing a poor job.

Born in Aintree in 1970, Mr Burnham is a Cambridge graduate who became a researcher for the late Tessa Jowell and then special adviser to Chris Smith, who was culture secretary in Tony Blair's first term.

He became MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester, with a majority more than 16,000, after the retirement of former Labour whip Lawrence Cunliffe and within two years was parliamentary aide to David Blunkett.

He was on his way.

After Labour's 2005 election victory, he became a junior minister, then middle-ranking minister at the Home Office before a sideways move to the Department of Health.

When Gordon Brown became PM in 2007, he joined the cabinet as Treasury chief secretary, and then became culture secretary a year later and health secretary in 2009.

After being heckled at Anfield as culture secretary in 2009, he became a champion of the Hillsborough bereaved, and eventually won a second inquiry, winning him cheers at the 25th anniversary.

As health secretary, he was criticised for rejecting calls for a public inquiry into an unusually high rate of deaths at Stafford Hospital after concerns about its standards of care.

After Labour's 2010 election defeat, he stood for the leadership, but came fourth behind the winner Ed Miliband, his brother David and Ed Balls, but ahead of left-winger Diane Abbott.

He served as shadow education secretary, and then health, and stood for the leadership again after Miliband's defeat in 2015, and this time came second to Jeremy Corbyn.

He was shadow home secretary under Corbyn, but a year later announced he was running for Greater Manchester mayor. He was elected in 2017 with 63% of the vote, in 2021 with 67% and in 2024 with 63% again.

When he was first elected, Corbyn travelled to Manchester to celebrate his triumph, but Burnham chose to celebrate with his supporters instead.

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As mayor, he has been a high-profile voice for northwest England, and promoted what he calls "Manchester-ism", with moves such as taking the city's buses back under public control.

Tackling homelessness, he initially pledged to end rough sleeping in Greater Manchester by 2020, but by late 2019 he was forced to admit he would miss his target.

He earned plaudits when he clashed with Boris Johnson over COVID-19 restrictions during the pandemic, a high-profile rearguard action that earned him the title the "King of the North" for the first time.

He ordered reviews into sex abuse allegations and grooming gangs in Rochdale, Manchester and Oldham, and backed calls for a national public inquiry.

Despite pledging to serve a full term as mayor, as Starmer's woes deepened last autumn Burnham claimed on the eve of Labour's conference last year that he was being urged to stand for the Labour leadership.

But that backfired, and Starmer saw off the challenge for a few months.

Then, in early 2026, Burnham made his next move, a bid to stand as Labour's candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

He was thwarted when a sub-committee of Labour's national executive voted 8-1 - with deputy leader Lucy Powell his sole backer - to block him.

Labour lost the by-election, and Burnham allies claimed he would have won.

Now he's back again, this time with powerful allies, including Powell, Angela Rayner and Lisa Nandy, calling for him to be allowed to stand in a by-election this time.

But time is not on Burnham's side. A swift contest, if it's triggered by Labour MP Catherine West's rallying call to mutineers, there almost certainly wouldn't be time for him to enter the race.

His best hope is a contest delayed until later in the year. And even then, with Labour support at rock bottom in last week's elections, there's no guarantee he could win a by-election.

But Burnham has proved before that he's a resilient politician and a fighter. That's what those MPs calling for Sir Keir to set a timetable for quitting claim Labour needs right now.

And despite the obstacles potentially standing in his way - Labour's national executive and a volatile electorate in a by-election - he's ready to answer the call.

(c) Sky News 2026: Who is 'King of the North' and would-be prime minister Andy Burnham?