# Revealed: Who are the brains behind Burnham

An episode of [Politics At Sam and Anne's](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1709628885), 3 Jun 2026, 22 min.

Audio: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/642c4932-0b9f-46e1-9e8b-bc07e5781005.mp3?aw_0_1st.showid=e0c28668-b961-43cf-8d6c-6ba62ef8a7a3&aw_0_1st.episodeid=642c4932-0b9f-46e1-9e8b-bc07e5781005

Westminster may look busy but are MPs just waiting for the potential return of Andy Burnham? With the Makerfield by-election just over a week away Burnham insists he's focussed on winning the seat. But behind the scenes allies are already developing ideas that could underpin a future bid for No10. Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy look at who is moulding the Burnham project and why certain plans for the economy and AI are attracting growing scrutiny from Westminster and the City. You can get the full list of candidates standing in the Makerfield by-election here.

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