MANCHESTER, England šC When Labour¡¯s Andy Burnham fought a Conservative government that wanted to impose stringent COVID restrictions on Greater Manchester with insufficient compensation in 2020, the mayor not only won hearts in England¡¯s north but also revived his national standing.

After winning a seat in parliament for his local area of Makerfield, Burnham, 56, hopes to ride a level of popularity rarely enjoyed by politicians to become Britain¡¯s seventh prime minister in a decade.

But if he does take the mantle, the combative approach towards central government that served him so well in northern England will come up against reality: with Britain¡¯s finances so tight, the sums needed to fund his ?as-yet nascent agenda might be as difficult to find as they were six years ago.

Four senior lawmakers in the governing Labour Party acknowledge that Burnham would ?face ?the same constraints as Prime Minister Keir Starmer has done ¡ª anemic economic growth, the rise of populist politics, a cost-of-living crisis and fiscal constraints that leave scant ?room for maneuver.

Tom Watson, a former deputy leader of Labour, put it bluntly on Substack last month when he urged the party ¡°to take a breath¡± before triggering a leadership contest ¡°and acknowledge the structural problems¡± any new leader would face.

¡°Changing leader will not magic away low growth, the cost of Brexit, higher defense spending, rising welfare costs, broken public services, the politics of migration, the cost of net ?zero or the tax choices now closing in on the government,¡± he wrote.

One senior Labour lawmaker said this week that without a clear agenda for every decision made to try to boost growth, the boldness to carry ?it through and a readiness to take risks, Burnham could founder like Starmer, whose popularity ratings are some of the worst of any British leader.

So far, Burnham, a career politician, has only given hints of what his agenda could be if he becomes the next prime minister, either through a Labour leadership contest or acclamation by Labour lawmakers, the ?route favored by many in the party.

On winning the election and seeing ?off a threat from the populist Reform U.K. party of veteran Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, Burnham said it was time to put the country back on the ¡°right path¡± and to change politics.

¡°Everyone can feel that the country isn¡¯t where it should be,¡± he said in a speech that ?was briefly interrupted by other Makerfield contenders. ¡°Tonight could ?just could be the turning point.¡±

Burnham performed a delicate balancing act as he campaigned for the parliamentary ?seat of Makerfield, careful not to alienate voters in the former coal-mining area by focusing too much on national rather than local issues.