Could ‘king in the north’ become Britain’s new prime minister?

“We know no king but the King in the North”, declares the young Lady Lyanna Mormont in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones. In the early hours of Friday morning, in a nondescript conference hall in the north of England, it appeared that the electorate agreed. About 70,000 voters in a post-industrial region of north-west England may have changed the face of British politics this week, after electing the charismatic Labour politician Andy Burnham to represent them in London. His ambitions do not end there. In a development that would have improbable just a few months ago, it would now be a surprise if Burnham does not end up representing the UK on the world stage, as its next prime minister – its sixth in 10 years. And that change could come soon. That is what was at stake in the byelection in Makerfield – it gave Burnham his much-craved path back to Westminster, and a chance to challenge Keir Starmer to become prime minister. Burnham is that rare breed in British politics. He has been a member of parliament before, and few people who knew him then could have foreseen his transformation. But when he stepped way and became mayor of Greater Manchester nine years ago, he reinvented himself. In this role, he forged a second political career, revelling in the moniker “king of the north” for his robust championing of an area that has long ceased to be the UK’s economic engine. It was this personal popularity that may have been decisive in the Makerfield contest. …