‘Within 10 mins, Andy had nicked it’: illustrator on his ubiquitous image of Andy Burnham

It was shortly after Andy Burnham’s famously rousing speech outside the Manchester Central Library in October 2020 that Stanley Chow decided to draw him. Or rather his wife did.

“It was the pandemic and we were all so down in the dumps at that point,” says the illustrator, speaking from his home in the city this week. But I remember looking around and he had just moved everyone.

“He was already a good mayor, but at that point we all thought: ‘Oh shit, he’s really good.’ And then my wife goes: you should draw Andy.”

So he did, using his preferred medium, Adobe Illustrator. “I put it on Twitter and within 10 mins, Andy had nicked it.”

Burnham initially used the image for his Twitter handle, but it has since appeared on billboards, beer mats, mugs, aprons and record inlays, becoming a visual proxy for both his mayoral campaigns and more recent campaigning in Makerfield.

With his spot-on light scowl and navy/black attire, the image has become shorthand for Burnham’s anti-establishment sentiment. “There is no tie, no,” says Chow, 51.

After its initial use, Burnham said he was “grateful to Stan for making me look cooler than I am”.

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Andy Burnham’s victory in Makerfield sets up a battle for Downing Street. Allies of the outgoing Greater Manchester mayor want him to be installed as prime minister as quickly and painlessly as possible, while those close to Keir Starmer want the Labour leader to fight on.

If he does become prime minister, Burnham will be expected to deliver on the “change” he promised after his win on Thursday night. But what would that look like, and what policies would his government be likely to pursue?

The Guardian’s policy editor, Kiran Stacey, explains:

Keir Starmer faces pressure from cabinet ministers and MPs to avoid a bruising leadership battle and instead set a timetable to hand power to Andy Burnham, who won a resounding majority in the Makerfield byelection.

The prime minister pledged to fight to keep his job, but ministers loyal to Starmer have urged him to set out plans to step down over the weekend.

Weakened by collapsing poll numbers and a string of local election losses, one cabinet minister – who has not previously told the prime minister to go – said Starmer’s departure was now inevitable.

A leadership challenge requires the formal backing of at least 81 Labour MPs, but, as my colleagues Jessica Elgot and Rowena Mason write in their report, one MP said they believed there were about 200 Labour MPs prepared, if necessary, to sign Burnham’s nomination papers.

Jessica and Rowena wrote:

Starmer called members of the cabinet on Friday afternoon to set out his determination to fight on. The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, is said by sources to be among those who expressed concerns in a call on Friday.

At least two ministers, Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood, have previously suggested to Starmer that he should set out a timetable for his departure.

Other ministers are expected to press Starmer on whether fighting a leadership contest would be wise. Another cabinet source said: “Everyone thinks it is over and everyone wants it to be a dignified, orderly exit.”

Supporters of Wes Streeting, the former health secretary, who has said it is also his intention to challenge Starmer, are being urged by Burnham allies not to launch a competing bid and for the party to unite behind a single successor.

Read the full report here:

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