As Andy Burnham, who is still mayor of Greater Manchester in his spare time, campaigns to win the Makerfield by-election in fewer than four weeks, he knows how much is at stake. It is not simply an opportunity to return to the ‘London-centric’ House of Commons he left nine years ago in order ‘to make a change, to challenge the status quo from the outside’. If he is returned to Parliament – as the odds very narrowly suggest he will be – there is a strong chance he will replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister within a short period of time.

It is a staggeringly foolish decision by Burnham to seek her advice

It is a staggeringly foolish decision by Burnham to seek her advice

Given the situation, it is perfectly reasonable that Burnham has devoted some time to thinking about what his premiership would be like. Just as Napoleon said that every French soldier carried a field marshal’s baton in his cartridge pouch, many MPs think at some point, however idly, about being prime minister, and Burnham is closer to the dream than most. That proximity also means that he will not lack for advice.

Nevertheless, it was still genuinely breathtaking to read in the Mail on Sunday that Burnham has been taking advice on a ‘transition to power’ and the possible ‘configuration’ of the Downing Street machinery from Baroness Gray of Tottenham. Sue Gray was, of course, Sir Keir........

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