By Elizabeth Piper and Andrew MacAskill
MANCHESTER, England, June 22 (Reuters) - Four years ago Andy Burnham complained he was repeatedly denied a main-stage speaking slot at the Labour Party conference under Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership, saying it was a sign of disrespect for his then position as Greater Manchester mayor.
There was some sympathy for one of Labour's most popular politicians, but now, as he seeks to become Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade, Burnham must prove
he can occupy that centre stage, win over restless voters and overcome the economic constraints that hamstrung his predecessors.
Burnham's pitch is that only he has the political charisma and the vision in Labour to connect with voters to defeat the populist anti-immigration Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, which has led in every poll since early last year.
His decisive victory in a contest for a seat in parliament last week, where Reform had recently performed strongly in local elections, has won over many Labour lawmakers after Starmer announced he would resign on Monday.
Burnham "has proven his credentials in putting forward a Labour vision voters can rally around", said Alex Sobel, a Labour member of parliament.
SUPPORTERS PRAISE RECORD, CRITICS QUESTION HIS CONSISTENCY
His supporters see Burnham — who won the nickname "King of the North" for his defence of the area during the COVID-19 pandemic — as a leader who made his mark at the helm of one of Britain’s few regional success stories in recent years.
But his critics portray Burnham as someone who has continually changed his policy positions and has sought to portray himself as a "normal man of the people" rather than the highly educated career politician he is.
On Monday, Burnham said he would stand to be Labour leader while one of his main rivals, the former health minister Wes Streeting, said he would not oppose him in a leadership contest.
So far, Burnham has only given hints of what his agenda could be if he becomes the next prime minister.
It is his record as Greater Manchester mayor, a job he took in 2017 to escape what he called London-centric politics, that offers the best insight into his possible plans.
Burnham's battle against then-prime minister Boris Johnson over the toughest COVID pandemic restrictions in 2020 raised his profile again beyond Manchester.
When his receipt and dismissal of Johnson's offer of £22 million ($29.13 million) in compensation - a third of the "bare minimum" he was asking for - was captured live on television, it burnished his image as standing up for his region against an overbearing central government.
He strongly supports further decentralisation along with a more interventionist state and describes his political beliefs today as "more place first rather than party first".
He has long argued that, by shifting power away from London, which dominates Britain's economy, communities can take direct control over the things that shape their own lives, such as utilities and transport.
ROSE THROUGH RANKS UNDER PRIME MINISTERS BLAIR AND BROWN
Burnham was born in Liverpool, where his father worked as a telephone engineer and his mother a receptionist. He won a place to study English at the University of Cambridge and after graduating, took a familiar path to political prominence, first as a researcher and then adviser in parliament.
He first served as a junior minister under former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and later culture secretary and health secretary under Gordon Brown.
In 2010 and 2015, he ran to become leader of the Labour Party and failed both times.
Some of his critics in the Labour Party say that Burnham has constantly changed his priorities during his political career.
In the last year, Burnham has criticised the government for "being in hock to the bond markets" - in comments he has since said had been misrepresented. He has called for nationalisation of key industries and for Britain to rejoin the European Union.
But in recent weeks, he moved toward centre ground. He said the nation's finances were too constrained for large-scale nationalisations and said Britain was not going to rejoin the EU any time soon.
In 2022, after the last soccer World Cup, Starmer poked fun at Burnham, likening his changing positions to someone switching allegiance to those national sides that might be winning in the tournament.
Burnham "got to see his boyhood team Argentina win the World Cup", he said in a speech. "It was a mixed bag because he also got to see his boyhood team France lose the final and his boyhood teams Morocco and Croatia lose in the semis."
To combat this perception and shore up Labour support, several lawmakers said Burnham would have to show he can lead boldly, distinguishing himself from Starmer.
Otherwise, one Labour lawmaker said, he could also find himself out of power in two years.
($1 = 0.7553 pounds)
(Editing by Kate Holton and Kevin Liffey; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
