Andy Burnham, King of the North, set to take the crown at Westminster after Keir Starmer resigns
New occupant for Number Ten within weeks
Andy Burnham, Labour's so-called "King of the North", looks set for a Westminster coronation following Sir Keir Starmer's resignation as Prime Minister and Wes Streeting's decision not to challenge for the job.
Labour does not often topple its leaders, especially not when they're in power. And the Tories amply demonstrated the chaos that can be caused by continually changing leaders.
But Sir Keir's departure had become inevitable after canvassers in the May elections reported that voters were citing Keir Starmer personally as their reason for not voting Labour and a growing number of MPs urged him to go.
So after less than two years in the role, he had to stand behind a lectern in Downing Street and announce he was standing down.
For many, his biggest achievement will be bringing the Labour Party back from a heavy defeat at the 2019 general election to a landslide victory in 2024.
But despite all the criticism he also had significant achievements in power - including rail nationalisation, new employment rights, renters' rights, removing the two-child benefit cap, reducing NHS waiting lists, rebuilding relations with allies and keeping Britain out of the war against Iran.
There were, of course, mistakes as well. The biggest may well have been the very first policy announcement after winning the election - scrapping winter fuel payments for most pensioners, though eventually some of that was reversed.
Andy Burnham’s stunning win in the Makerfield by-election - taking 55 per cent of the votes in what had been billed as a close contest against Reform - proved how popular he has become as Greater Manchester’s Mayor and put him in prime position to bid to replace Keir Starmer.
Wes Streeting deserves credit for not putting the party through a potentially damaging party which Mr Burnham looked bound to win anyway.
The transition from Mayor to Prime Minister will be a big one. But where Keir Starmer was criticised for not explaining what his election-winning “Change” slogan meant in practice, Andy Burnham has his record in Manchester to point to - and it looks as if that’s working well.