By Beth Abbit

Copyright manchestereveningnews

Hello, Kissing babies is usually the preserve of prospective world leaders. That hasn’t put Andy Burnham off. He stopped short of placing a peck on the forehead of baby Rhys – but he did pose for a snap with the toddler and his mum during the second day of Labour ’s conference in Liverpool. Perhaps it’s all part of the mayor’s show-a-bit-of-ankle approach to his apparent leadership bid. Or perhaps it’s just polite in a post-pandemic world. Although politicians usually only smush the cheeks of babies when they’re seeking election – what’s Mr Burnham running for? Get news, views and analysis of the biggest stories with the daily Mancunian Way newsletter – sign up here Our mayor has never been averse to a selfie with a fan. And there’s certainly been plenty of that this week. “He appears no less popular, or unpopular,” says our man on the ground, Ethan Davies. It’s a shame the mayor didn’t bring any of his ‘King of the North’ beers or strikingly cool cartoon prints to flog in Liverpool. It would have been interesting to see how well they sold in comparison to the party manifesto, which features a very grey image of Sir Keir Starmer . But the mayor has promised to keep a low profile. So low in fact, that he wasn’t actually present at the leader’s speech to avoid creating a distraction. After all, he can’t help it if the room where he was recording a Guardian podcast was fit to burst, can he? He can’t help it if people want selfies. And he can’t be blamed for constant speculation about which seat he could take over . His popularity may well be apparent in his home town. But what do the public here think? When we asked the people of Oldham if he would make a good Prime Minister one voter said: “Better the devil you know”. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. But another suggested Mr Burnham’s presence in Westminster would fill a hole keenly felt by the resignation of Angela Rayner. Her oratory and karaoke skills are certainly missed at this year’s event. “He is a northern man who understands northern people – Westminster needs that,” local Amin Babor Chowdhury said. Of course Starmer’s allies are still desperately trying to peddle the notion that Burnham is all hat and no cattle. And Labour’s tendency for Ouroboros-like in-fighting never does the party any favours. But if we’re talking headgear, even the Communication Workers’ Union are embracing the Mancunian look. They argue that their reversible bucket hats have been much more popular than Environment Secretary Steve Reed’s red ‘Build Baby Build’ baseball caps. Whether that’s a subtle endorsement of Mr Burnham remains to be seen. As for the Prime Minister’s attire – he’s been wandering around Liverpool during downtime in a pair of Adidas Run 60s to rival Burnham’s trusty Gazelles. As a colleague of mine commented: “Starmer’s look like the sort my dad picks out at Sports Direct when his old ones have finally fallen apart.” They might be more Dadidas than Adidas, but it’s the little details that matter. Remember when Rishi Sunak had to apologise for wearing a box-fresh pair of Adidas Sambas and ruining the look for everyone else? Three months later, he was gone. Rachel Reeves insists Labour will ‘push ahead’ with Northern Powerhouse Rail . The Chancellor made the promise in her speech to the Labour Party conference citing plans “never delivered by the Conservatives ”, “opposed by Reform” but backed by Labour. “A vote of confidence in the north of England to get people to work, to connect families, to create jobs and to build prosperity in towns and cities scarred by underinvestment for far too long,” she said. Meanwhile plans to build 15,000 homes in a long-neglected corner of Manchester can now happen ‘much quicker’ as Labour announces Victoria North will be one of its first ‘new towns’ . And our region is getting £25million to grow its film, TV, music, fashion and video games industries. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy spoke of a government “backing our regions” by giving six areas outside of London, including Greater Manchester, a share of a £150m pot. When the heavens opened last Saturday , Amy Hayes got a familiar sinking feeling. She was one of dozens of people rescued by firefighters after her home in Stockport’s Meadow Mill was left underwater during the devastating New Year’s Day floods . And almost 10 months later she still lives in fear of it happening again. “Everyone is worried that it’s going to flood again. They’ve not done anything to stop it from flooding again. “When it’s raining, we’ve got a WhatsApp group, everyone is saying ‘is anyone else getting PTSD because it’s raining?’ Everyone is worried.” Damon Wilkinson and Stephen Topping have been speaking to some of the businesses involved. If you’ve been in town recently, you absolutely cannot miss Gary Neville’s massive £400million No.1 St Michael’s development, on Jackson’s Row. It sits close to the Town Hall Central Library and Manchester Central and as such, the views from the rooftop restaurant are unparalleled. Jenna Campbell got an exclusive look at Chotto Matte. You can read all about it here. Those glorious Oasis gigs at Heaton Park feel a long time ago now, but we’ll always have the memories of that brilliant fortnight when Gallagher Hill was the only place to be seen. Almost as good is Wembley Stadium, where Oasis finished their reunion tour last weekend. These incredible images sum up how wonderful it was. Wednesday: Cloudy. 17C. Roads: A5067 Chester Rd westbound, Old Trafford , closed for roadworks between Talbot Rd and Bridgewater Way between 9.30am and 3.30pm until October 31. A6 Chapel St westbound, Salford , closed for long-term roadworks between Blackfriars Rd and New Bailey St until January 19. A577 Mosley Common Road closed in both directions due to roadworks between A580 East Lancashire Road and Ashdown Drive until October 21. Manc trivia: How many times have Oasis played Wembley during their reunion tour? In the words of the senior cop who brought them to justice they were ‘intent on only one thing – violence’. During the mid-to-late 80s Manchester City ‘s Guvnors and Young Guvnors were making a name for themselves as two of the most notorious hooligan firms in the country. Damon Wilkinson has been taking a look at how undercover cops smashed Manchester City’s feared Guvnors firm. Trivia answer: Seven. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE