The sudden rise of Mr Burnham, formerly mayor of Manchester, came with a by-election in Macclesfield that was a must-win for him to get back to London and national politics as his party’s choice of leader. He will also face the task at some point of keeping the rising Reform Party at bay if Labour, one of the top two parties of traditional British politics along with the Tories, is to call general elections though it is just two years since Mr Starmer helped Labour storm parliament at the expense of the Tories and their six pro-Brexit PMs