Burnham joined the Labour Party when he was 15. From 1994 until the
1997 general election he was a researcher for
Tessa Jowell. In 1998, he became a
special adviser to the
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport,
Chris Smith, a position he remained in until he was elected to the
House of Commons in
2001.
Member of Parliament Following the retirement of
Lawrence Cunliffe, Burnham successfully applied to be the parliamentary candidate for
Leigh in Greater Manchester, then a safe Labour seat. At the
2001 election he was elected with a majority of 16,362, and gave his
maiden speech in the House of Commons on 4 July 2001. Following his election to Parliament, Burnham was a member of the
Health Select Committee from 2001 until 2003, when he was appointed
Parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the
Home Secretary David Blunkett. Following Blunkett's first resignation in 2004, he became PPS to the
education secretary Ruth Kelly. Burnham voted for the
Iraq War, and consistently voted against holding an inquiry into the war.
In Government (2005–2010) Following the
2005 election Burnham was promoted to serve in the Government as a
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, with responsibility for implementing the
Identity Cards Act 2006. In the government reshuffle of 5 May 2006, he was moved from the
Home Office and promoted to
Minister of State for Delivery and Reform at the
Department of Health. In
Gordon Brown's first cabinet, announced on 28 June 2007, Burnham was appointed
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, a position he held until 2008. During his time at the Treasury, he helped write the
2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.
Brown Cabinet (2008–2010) In a re-shuffle in January 2008, Burnham was promoted to the position of
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, replacing
James Purnell. In June 2008, he apologised to the director of pressure group
Liberty,
Shami Chakrabarti, after she threatened to sue him for libel for smearing her reputation in an article Burnham had written for
Progress magazine. In late 2008, Burnham announced government plans to tighten controls on internet content in order to "even up" what he described as an imbalance with TV regulations. The announcement was followed by a speech to the music industry's lobbying group, UK Music, in which he announced "a time that calls for partnership between Government and the music business as a whole: one with rewards for both of us; one with rewards for society as a whole. (...) My job – Government's job – is to preserve the value in the system." In April 2009, after being heckled at the 20th anniversary of the
Hillsborough disaster, Burnham used the next day's cabinet meeting in Downing Street to ask Prime Minister
Gordon Brown if he could raise the issue of Hillsborough in Parliament, and Brown agreed. The eventual result was the
second Hillsborough inquiry. In 2014, when Burnham spoke at the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, he was cheered and applauded by the crowd. in 2009 In June 2009, Burnham was again promoted, becoming
Secretary of State for Health. He held the post until the Labour government resigned following the 2010 general election. In July 2009, a month after he became health secretary, Burnham launched an independent inquiry chaired by the QC
Robert Francis into
unusually high mortality rates at Stafford Hospital. The inquiry found systematic failures at the hospital, and was critical of care provided by the
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. A wider
public inquiry, also led by Robert Francis, was launched in 2010 by his successor as health secretary,
Andrew Lansley. It found serious failings at the hospital but concluded it would be "misleading" to link those failings to a particular number of deaths. After leaving office, reports claimed that Burnham and his predecessor as health secretary,
Alan Johnson, had rejected 81 requests for an inquiry sitting in public to examine the high rate of deaths at Stafford hospital. According to
The Daily Telegraph, after initial concerns were raised about links between mortality rates and standards of care in 2005, there were up to 2,800 more deaths than expected across 14 NHS trusts highlighted as having unusually high death rates. In July 2009, the Department of Health released its
green paper Shaping the Future of Care Together, which proposed a National Care Service "on par with the NHS". This was followed by a public consultation in September called the "Big Care Debate", which was promoted by Prime Minister Gordon Brown as a "crucial national debate". The consultation found a public desire for social care reform and explored different ways to introduce the NCS. The government decided to introduce the NCS gradually and in different stages, with the first stage beginning with the
Personal Care at Home Act 2010, which was passed in April 2010. Burnham formally launched the NCS a month earlier, giving all
elderly and
disabled people free social care. The second stage was planned to begin from 2014 and would extend free social care to people who were in
residential care for more than two years. A third and final stage would fully introduce the NCS, giving all adults free social care after 2015. However, following Labour's defeat in the
2010 general election, the Conservative and
Liberal Democrat coalition of
David Cameron and
Nick Clegg scrapped the NCS and the Personal Care at Home Act 2010 was later repealed.
In Opposition (2010–2017) First leadership campaign (2010) In May 2010, following the defeat of
Gordon Brown's government, Burnham became
Shadow Secretary of State for Health. After Brown's resignation as leader of the Labour Party, Burnham declared his intention to stand in the subsequent
leadership contest. He launched his leadership campaign in his Leigh constituency on 26 May. Burnham stood on his philosophy of "aspirational socialism", aligning himself with
Intern Aware's campaign to end unpaid internships. He made policy commitments including re-creating the National Care Service, which he had previously introduced as health secretary before its abolition by the Coalition, and replacing
inheritance tax with a
land value tax. Burnham finished fourth, eliminated on the second ballot with 10.4% of the vote. The leadership contest was won by
Ed Miliband.
Miliband Shadow Cabinet (2010–2015) annual conference in 2014 In October 2010, Burnham was appointed
Shadow Secretary of State for Education and election co-ordinator for the Labour Party. As shadow education secretary, Burnham opposed the coalition government's plans for "
free schools". He argued for moving the education system back towards a
comprehensive system. A year later, he was appointed to the role of Shadow Secretary of State for Health, which he held until 2015. In July 2013
The Daily Telegraph reported that Burnham's staff had edited his Wikipedia page to remove criticisms of his handling of the Stafford Hospital scandal. Burnham's office claimed they had removed false statements that had been drawn to their attention.
Second leadership campaign (2015) On 13 May 2015, Burnham announced that he would stand to replace
Ed Miliband in the
2015 leadership election. He stressed the need to unite the party and country and "rediscover the beating heart of Labour". He attracted press criticism for claiming £17,000 in expenses to rent a London flat, despite owning another within walking distance of the House of Commons. A spokesperson for Burnham said that renting out the original flat was necessary to "cover his costs" as parliamentary rule changes meant he was no longer able to claim for mortgage interest expenses. Burnham was criticised for jokingly saying that Labour should have a woman leader "when the time is right", with the
New Statesman saying that he had "tripped over his mouth again". He also said that he would resign from the Shadow Cabinet if Labour supported leaving
NATO, something which
Jeremy Corbyn had talked about. Burnham was criticised for refusing to talk to
The Sun newspaper when it emerged he had been interviewed by
The Sun in his previous run for the Labour leadership, and had been photographed in the back of a cab for the newspaper. Burnham abstained on the government's welfare bill, despite having previously described the legislation as "unsupportable". Burnham came second to Corbyn in the election, with 19% of the vote in the first round, compared to 59% for Corbyn.
Shadow Cabinet (2015–2017) In September 2015, Burnham accepted an appointment as
shadow home secretary in the first
Corbyn shadow cabinet and remained in the role after the 2016 reshuffle. Burnham opposed the
Prevent counter-terrorism strategy; appearing in 2016 alongside the anti-Prevent organisation MEND, Burnham said: "The Prevent duty to report extremist behaviour is today's equivalent of internment in Northern Ireland." On 27 April 2016, the day after the Hillsborough inquest verdict that found the 96 Hillsborough deaths had occurred as a result of
unlawful killing, Burnham made a speech to the House of Commons calling for those responsible to be held to account. Condemning
South Yorkshire Police, which had instigated a cover-up in the aftermath of the tragedy, he described the force as being "rotten to the core" while suggesting that the cover-up had been "advanced in the committee rooms of this House and in the press rooms of 10 Downing Street". The eleven-minute statement drew applause from MPs, a response that is generally against convention at Westminster. On 25 April 2017, as his final act in Parliament, he delivered an adjournment debate that lasted over an hour on the
Infected blood scandal. Burnham used the debate to present a raft of evidence stating "this scandal amounts to a criminal cover-up on an industrial scale" and that "these are criminal acts". He said that if the Government did not set up an Investigation into the scandal that he would refer his evidence to the police.
Labour's return to Government (2024–present) Burnham voted for
Keir Starmer, who went on to win, in the
2020 Labour Party leadership election, saying in an interview with
The Guardian that "Keir is a brilliant man. The fact he was a former
DPP, and came to work in my shadow Home Office team with no airs and graces says a lot about Keir Starmer." Following this perceived success, and several by-election losses for Labour in 2021, Burnham was touted by many commentators as a potential future leader of the party. Burnham dismissed this speculation, calling it "annoying", but refused to rule out standing in the future. In September 2023, Burnham was ranked twelfth on the
New Statesman Left Power List, described as a "key dissenter" and a "crucial voice" in the party, as well as a potential future party leader. Starmer went on to win the
2024 general election, returning Labour to government. Burnham was a panelist for the
Sky News coverage of the election, and called
Jacob Rees-Mogg losing
North East Somerset and Hanham to Labour's
Dan Norris a
Portillo moment that came shortly after Labour reached the 326 seats needed for a majority. Burnham was among a group of mayors to meet Starmer and Deputy Prime Minister
Angela Rayner in Downing Street.
Labour leadership speculation (2025–2026) , July 2024While Starmer's honeymoon period was brief, Burnham maintained high approval in Greater Manchester (83% name recognition) by distancing himself from the national Labour leadership. He earned national credit for regional successes, such as bringing the bus network into public ownership. Burnham utilised a soft-left platform at the Compass conference, advocating for wealth taxes and proportional representation. This stood in sharp contrast to Starmer's perceived "gloomy" approach to governance, positioning Burnham as an optimistic alternative. By August 2025, polls identified Burnham as the most popular senior Labour figure. In late September, an Opinium poll gave Starmer a net –40 approval rating compared to Burnham's +10. A poll of Labour members showed 62% would back Burnham in a hypothetical head-to-head against Starmer (29%). 36% of voters preferred Burnham as PM compared to 29% for Starmer. As rumours of a leadership challenge grew, Starmer's allies reportedly moved to block Burnham from seeking a Parliamentary seat, which is required to lead the party. Despite this, Burnham’s popularity remained strong as he was viewed as "untainted" by the government's unpopular decisions. In January 2026, a poll found voters believed Burnham would do a better job than Starmer in 12 out of 14 domestic categories, including the NHS, taxation, and immigration. Starmer led only in foreign policy and defence, with just 16% of the public believing he is doing "well" overall. In September 2025, a new network,
Mainstream, was formed within the Labour Party, to be a home for 'radical realists' within the party. The group has Burnham's backing. This raised the prospect of a possible leadership challenge. Burnham has said that any leadership challenge is up to Labour MPs. Speaking to
The Guardian at the 2025
Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Burnham asserted that "all I've launched is a debate" about the direction of the party, noting that he was ineligible to make a leadership challenge as he was not an MP. Two polls were released the same day; a YouGov/Sky News survey found that 62% of Labour members would support Burnham over Starmer, whilst a Survation poll found that Burnham would be the first choice of 43% of prospective Labour leaders, with the closest challenger being
Wes Streeting at 9%. Ideologically described as sitting on the
soft left of the Labour Party, Mainstream describes itself as the home of Labour's "radical realists" and promotes a
democratic socialist platform which includes the introduction of a
wealth tax, lifting the
two-child benefit cap and the
nationalisation of key public industries. According to its organisers, Mainstream is intended to serve as a
broad-church for Labour's
progressive left, ranging from members on the
Labour left to party
centrists associated with
New Labour, rather than a political faction or caucus. Its membership is formed from a broad alliance of Labour politicians on the Labour left and soft left, as well as the more progressive elements of New Labour. He supports
rejoining the European Union. He has suggested the possibility of a
land value tax and a revaluation of
council tax. but was blocked in an 8–1 vote by the
National Executive Committee of the Labour Party on 25 January 2026, including by Starmer. Burham found this disappointing and expressed concern about the ruling's impact for the party on the upcoming local elections and national elections in Wales and Scotland. The by-election had been framed by the media as a route for Burnham to return to Westminster and potentially challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership. Concern existed among Labour figures that Burnham's candidacy would lead to a by-election for the position of mayor, which would be costly and politically risky for the party: MP
Graham Stringer expressed his reluctance to let
Reform UK "have a go" at winning the mayoralty. Labour sources to the BBC also stated concerns about the "prospect of a divisive campaign".
Mainstream, a group associated with Burnham, launched a petition to NEC Chair and home secretary
Shabana Mahmood calling for a "fair, democratic and open selection".
Momentum came out in support for Burnham's bid for the Labour candidacy. Burnham being blocked by the NEC ultimately led to the
Green Party candidate
Hannah Spencer winning the by-election. Burnham previously beat Spencer in the 2024 mayoral election by a margin of 375,000 votes. After Spencer won the by-election, Burnham publicly congratulated her on her "historic win", noting that he had been isolating with
COVID-19 during the final stages of the campaign. Spencer has acknowledged Burnham's local popularity, stating that if he had been the candidate, she would have faced a "harder fight". ==Mayor of Greater Manchester (2017–present)==