Burnham was mayor of Greater Manchester, the country's second-largest city, from 2015 until last week. His move to run for Parliament, which allowed him to challenge Starmer as Labour leader, was the last straw for a prime minister under threat since the far-right Reform UK won the largest share of the vote in local elections in May.

Turmoil at the top has almost become a normal part of UK political life since the Brexit referendum on 23 June 2016, when 52% of voters backed leaving the EU.

The first casualty was David Cameron, who quit after six years as prime minister. None of his successors has lasted more than three years in office. Since the Brexit referendum, the UK has had more prime ministers than Belgium (four) and Italy (five).

Burnham looks a lot more European than most recent UK prime ministers.

He said he looks to Germany and France in trying to strengthen city governments and regions. He speaks admiringly of Germany's vocational education system, which he mimicked by starting a non-university route two years ago to help young people in Manchester gain the skills that employers want.

He heralded a potential U-turn for the UK when he talked this month about nationalising a water company. That and some 40 state-owned businesses were sold to the private sector by prime minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. Many European countries followed, encouraged by the European Commission.

Many British voters wish he would.

“British voters see Brexit as a disaster,” said the European Council on Foreign Relations. Ten years on, “irrespective of how Brits voted in 2016, they are looking to Europe” on prosperity, security and control of migration.

Respondents blamed Brexit for harming living costs, the economy, the UK's reputation, uncontrolled and controlled migration, and opportunities for young people.

Eurostat figures from 2015 to 2025 bear some of that out, showing slowing trade in goods between the UK and the EU. An estimate from the Centre for European Reform goes further, by adding in the growth the UK could have had if it had stayed in the EU. It sees a total reduction of 12% in UK exports to the EU and a 16% drop in what the country imports from the EU.

Europe is a unifying issue for people who vote for the Greens or the left and centre-left parties, Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Supporters of the centre-right Conservative party are divided on Europe; voters for the far-right Reform UK are strongly against rejoining the EU.

Security and lack of trust in the US seem to be a key part of this change of heart. Strikingly, only 18% saw the US as an ally, compared to 53% who called Germany an ally. Only 6% were ”very confident” that the US would defend the UK against an attack, compared to 24% who said that they could rely on EU countries.