Long read: the Greater Manchester blueprint Andy Burnham is taking to No10

Bruised after two Labour leadership defeats to Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn, he was returning to his home turf where his popularity would grow and grow to become affectionately known as “King of the North”.

As he left SW1 in 2017, he said: “I genuinely believe I will be able to do more for Leigh as mayor of Greater Manchester than as the town's MP.”

He also hit out: “There’s an inbuilt snobbery to Westminster. It doesn’t take well to people with accents.”

Yet now Mr Burnham has returned as MP for Makerfield - the neighbouring constituency to his former seat of Leigh - and appears set to become the first occupant of No10 with a Northern accent since Huddersfield’s Harold Wilson in the mid-1970s.

In slightly surreal circumstances, Sir Keir Starmer announced he was resigning as Prime Minister before Mr Burnham had even been sworn in in the House of Commons.

And since then, the other leadership challenges have all but melted away.

Wes Streeting announced that he was backing the former Greater Manchester Mayor, despite previously saying he would stand in a leadership contest.

Darren Jones, who was being pushed as the continuity candidate for Sir Keir, also will not challenge after having a conversation with Mr Burnham about his economic policy.

The former armed forces minister Al Carns is flirting with running, but would likely struggle to get the 81 MPs required to be nominated.

This means that it is likely Mr Burnham will enter No10 without a general election or leadership contest to set out his policy platform.

And while this is largely hamstrung by Labour’s general election manifesto, there are certain areas where Mr Burnham will focus on.

In the Makerfield by-election, the former mayor pledged “maximum devolution” to the regions.

Reports suggest he will ramp up fiscal devolution, giving mayors powers to set and collect business rates across their regions, and also move part of the No10 operation to the North.

The Northern Powerhouse Partnership’s Henri Murison, who has worked with Mr Burnham throughout his time in the North West, said: “The experience of being a metro mayor has clearly shaped Andy’s political and economic outlook.

“Pragmatism and a focus on delivering growth, underpin all that has been achieved in Greater Manchester.

“The North of England is an opportunity for the country and consistently Andy has made the case for this as strongly as anyone.

“Raising productivity here is not just necessary to make the public finances add up, but to raise living standards and make people feel this country works for people like them again.”

Shipley MP Anna Dixon, who first worked with Mr Burnham almost 20 years ago when he was health secretary under Gordon Brown, believes his new philosophy is rooted in his experience of getting things done as Greater Manchester Mayor.

“He was frustrated that you can be sitting around the Cabinet table and still feel powerless,” she tells The Yorkshire Post.

“With things like health inequalities, creating good jobs, fixing public transport, building housing - he’s had much more power and ability to deliver as a mayor than maybe he felt he had in Westminster.

“The frustration in the way that Whitehall is very siloed, compared with the ability of a devolved mayor to bring things together.”

Ms Dixon says she saw the latter while working with Mr Burnham, when he was mayor, on getting older people back into work.

“Greater Manchester had seen that they couldn’t succeed economically with the level of economic inactivity in the over 50s,” she said.

“They could create lots of jobs but if they didn’t get people into those jobs they were going to continue to have a deficit as an economy.”

The combined authority set up a Working Well programme, bringing together job centres, employment support and healthcare which is now the blueprint for Government reforms.

In Manchester, Mr Burnham was known for being very across the detail in subjects he was interested in.

His main focuses during his mayoralty was housing and rough sleeping, buses and public transport and technical education.

In other areas - such as policing - he would largely devolve responsibility to his deputy mayors, in the case of crime Kate Green.

Some prime ministerial responsibilities, such as foreign policy, are largely unknown, although Mr Burnham is expected to take a more combative approach to Donald Trump than Sir Keir.

There has been much speculation as to who he will appoint to his top team.

It has already been announced that his former New Labour cabinet colleagues, James Purnell, will become his chief of staff.

Kevin Lee, who has been his key political advisor in Greater Manchester, helped orchestrate Mr Burnham’s almost seamless path to No10.

He was seen as key to finding a seat for his boss, while Josh Simons, who paved the way in Makerfield, may also get a role in Downing Street.

In Greater Manchester, Mr Burnham made some eye-catching appointments. Olympian Chris Boardman and Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey led the region’s active travel programme.

While Warehouse Project founder Sacha Lord was in charge of boosting the hospitality industry, and was not without controversy.

During his time as mayor he acted as a coalition builder and convener, reaching out to opposition across the political divide.

He became friends with Michael Gove, while the Tory veteran was Housing Secretary, and he will need to bring this skillset to No10.

It was the various competing interests of the Parliamentary Labour Party that brought down Sir Keir, and Mr Burnham will have to navigate them deftly to get legislation through the House of Commons.

“He’s someone who is very approachable, very relatable, someone who is a good communicator - that’s what we will see in terms of leadership,” Ms Dixon says.

Perhaps, most of all, Mr Burnham will bring a sense of humour and an element of enjoyment to No10.

Previous occupants have appeared to have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Someone who relishes and enjoys the challenge could start to win over the public.