Burnham’s actually a scouser, born in Aintree; but that pedantry aside he should be one of the rare politicians to actually keep his word and see out his term as Manchester mayor, which he promised to do when elected in 2024.
Furthermore, given the notable swings to Reform in his Manchester consituencies last week, despite only one-third of the seats voting, the received wisdom that he’s a popular mayor seems less than robust; hence the Labour candidate to replace him should he jump ship would be anything but a shoo-in.
I have no ‘evidence’ that Rayner would be a good replacement for Starmer, other than her being a woman, which of itself would be a refreshing change.