At one stage the northern mayor looked to be locked out of parliament, again, but he is still only one step along the road to his No 10 ambitions For weeks, Andy Burnham’s supporters had told MPs to “hold the line”, that he had a seat in parliament in his sights and that he would be a contender in any leadership contest. That was never the full truth. His path to No 10 – if he makes it – is littered with more failed attempts than almost any other politician.