Born in Liverpool in 1970, Burnham grew up in Culcheth, a quiet commuter belt village in Cheshire, near Warrington.
His father, a BT engineer, and his mother, a GP receptionist, were both staunch Labour supporters and he developed an early interest in politics.
Burnham has described how he was inspired to join the Labour Party at the age of 14, after being moved by the BBC TV drama, Boys from the Blackstuff, about life on the dole in Liverpool.
A lifelong Everton fan, his friends remember Burnham as a competitive, sports-mad child, who was a fast bowler for Lancashire schoolboys cricket team.
At school, the local Roman Catholic comprehensive, his English teacher recalls how he stood to be a Labour candidate in mock elections – and won by a landslide.
Burnham and his two brothers were the first in their family to go to university, with Andy studying English at Cambridge.
In his book, Head North, Burnham wrote that he “struggled to feel part of things” at university and felt like an “imposter”.
However, the music-lover – who is a fan of Manchester indie bands like The Smiths and The Stone Roses – said his “growing interest in Manchester music gave me an identity and an advantage”.
