ANDY Burnham is dominating the headlines currently due to his war of words with Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government over the Covid travel ban between Scotland and Greater Manchester.

It's a position that the former Labour minister is probably enjoying having used previous spats with Boris Johnson over lockdown restrictions and financial support for his area to catch the attention of voters across the UK.

And it all comes as Sir Keir Starmer's position as Labour leader looks very shaky.

Starmer's party had a disastrous performance at the local elections in England last month and there could be worse news to come for the party if they fail to hold onto the murdered MP Jo Cox's seat of Batley and Spen next week. 

The Tories have a strong chance to take the constituency in what was a Labour stronghold. Should Labour fail to hold onto the seat Starmer will come under further pressure to go.

Burnham, who was born in Liverpool, is currently the bookies' favourite to succeed Starmer should he be forced to quit as Labour chief - an observation alluded to earlier this week by the First Minister.

Burnham has been on the frontline of UK politics for decades, having been first elected as the MP for Leigh back in 2001.

The 51-year-old rose through the ranks under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, first becoming chief secretary to the treasury, then culture secretary and finally health secretary.

He then became a prominent member of the Labour shadow cabinet after the party lost power in 2010, serving as shadow health secretary and shadow education secretary.

The MP attempted to become Labour leader in 2015 after the resignation of Ed Miliband following the party's defeat at the General Election.

But despite entering the race as the favourite he ultimately lost out to Jeremy Corbyn, coming in a distant second place.

Burnham served in Corbyn's shadow cabinet but resigned from his role as shadow home secretary in October 2016 in order to focus on his mayoral bid.

He won the 2017 mayoral election, and was re-elected in the delayed election held last month. 

For his role of securing more money for northern communities during the Covid lockdowns in England last year, he was nicknamed "king of the North" by the media.

Ahead of the 2014 referendum he was a vocal opponent of independence and a Better Together ally.

In February that year he declared that Scotland becoming independent would create a "higher chance of a Tory government".

He said people in Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle feel a closer affinity with Scotland than the south of England, and should work together to keep Labour in power.

"I am going to be leading a charge here and I don't know if it will cut any ice with any Scots voters but I want northern England to say, 'for God's sake, help us out. If you vote Yes you are saddling us with the Tories in government'."

Burnham, who opposed Brexit, has been a vocal supporter of the families of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster, fighting to secure justice for those affected.

He is married with three children and is a lifelong fan of Everton FC.