There appears to be a missing chapter in the story of Andy Burnham. Depending on the whims of voters in Makerfield, Britain could soon have its first prime minister with a degree in English literature and its first Cambridge-educated premier since Stanley Baldwin. And while we have been treated to countless long reads on the so-called King of the North – his political philosophy, his years in Manchester and his apprenticeship in New Labour – his undergraduate years have barely been scrutinised.

Burnham is tight-lipped about his Cambridge days (1988-1991). His comments over the years have been mostly limited to saying he had ‘imposter syndrome’ as he struggled to fit in at a university that was dominated, he felt, by private school students. Unlike him, they ‘weren’t aware of the issues involved’ with the Hillsborough disaster, which took place during Burnham’s first year and ‘radicalised’ him.

When he’s been asked about his favourite memory from Cambridge, he jokes that ‘I need to say meeting my future wife there’. Marie-France van Heel was in her first year at his college and he impressed her with his ‘Madchester’ connections. After he graduated, she appeared on ITV’s Blind Date, holidaying in Gibraltar with Will from Surrey, who went on to become the Conservative party’s marketing director under Michael Howard. She decided to stick with Burnham.

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How did Burnham pass his time as a student? Having applied unsuccessfully........

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