About Andy Burnham
Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party since July 2026. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Makerfield in Greater Manchester since June 2026, and was Mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 to 2026; before that he was MP for Leigh from 2001 to 2017 and held several Cabinet positions. Burnham identifies as a socialist and is associated with the Labour Party's soft left; he is also a member of the Co-operative Party, which is allied with Labour. His political ideology has been called "Manchesterism". Burnham was born and brought up in northern England. He joined Labour at the age of 15 and read English at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He worked as a journalist and political adviser before being elected the MP for Leigh in 2001. Under the prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, he was Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Culture Secretary, in which capacity he launched the Hillsborough Independent Panel. In 2009 he was promoted to Health Secretary; he responded to the swine flu pandemic and launched an independent inquiry into the Stafford Hospital scandal. After Labour's defeat at the 2010 general election, Burnham served in the shadow cabinet from 2010 to 2016. He stood for the Labour leadership in 2010 and in 2015, coming fourth and second respectively. In 2017 he stood down as an MP and was elected Mayor of Greater Manchester. He reorganised Manchester's tram and bus systems as the Bee Network and received the nickname "King of the North" for campaigning for more furlough funding for Northern communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Burnham's tenure as mayor increased his national profile and he was re-elected in 2021 and in 2024. Following Labour's return to government in 2024, Burnham maintained strong approval ratings as those of the prime minister, Keir Starmer, declined, and came to be seen as a potential successor. He returned to Parliament in 2026 by winning the Makerfield by-election and resigned as mayor. Starmer announced his resignation, leading to a party leadership election which Burnham won unopposed. During his premiership, Burnham has announced policies to move some government administration out of London as No. 10 North, cut fares on buses, reduce business rates on pubs, increase government support for apprenticeships, establish a National Care Service, and continue support for Ukraine. Following the 2010 general election which resulted in a hung parliament, Burnham was a candidate in the Labour leadership election which was won by Ed Miliband, coming fourth out of five candidates. Burnham won the 2017 mayoral election, was re-elected in the delayed election held in May 2021, and elected for a third time in the 2024 election, two months before the Labour Party won that year's general election. Burnham served as Shadow Secretary of State for Health until late 2010, when he became Shadow Secretary of State for Education. A member of the Labour and Co-operative Party, Burnham identifies as a socialist on the soft left of the Labour Party.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.