Andy Burnham has got away with it. He pulled a fast one, took a risk and came up smiling. After the election of Bev Craig to replace him as mayor of Greater Manchester, his smile is broader still.
His first risk was going back on his promise to the people of the area to serve out his term as mayor because he saw a chance to become prime minister. You can’t do that, Sir Keir Starmer told him at the first time of asking: the people of Greater Manchester won’t like it, and they’ll vote in a Reform mayor to punish Labour.
