Will Andy Burnham help win back the red wall seats for Labour?

Boris Johnson won a slew of longstanding Labour seats in the north of England last year: John Rentoul asks if he can hold on to them against a tide of anti-Westminster sentiment

Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester and warrior chief of the north (Getty)

Andy Burnham’s emergence as the warrior chief of the revolt of the north against coronavirus rules imposed by the government in London could have some unexpected effects on national politics. The mayor of Greater Manchester has mobilised northern identity as a way of putting pressure on Boris Johnson.  

But by rallying the north against what he portrays as a distant and uncaring southern elite – saying on Tuesday that it was people “too often forgotten by those in power” who bear the brunt of large-scale restrictions –  he could have an unexpected effect across the red wall seats that were decisive at the last election.  

The secret of Johnson’s success in December last year was to use Brexit as leverage to win over blue-collar seats across northern England, the Midlands and north Wales – seats that had mostly returned Labour MPs to Westminster for a century.