Labour’s current unpopularity is largely down to Starmer’s combination of rightward-pivoting Blairism and negative charisma. If Burnham with his popular “Manchesterist” programme takes over, that should reverse some of the expected Faragist gains and possibly buy Labour a term, in which they better get cracking and push through a fairer voting system (especially if Burnham wins Makerfield due to the Greens holding back, with the expectation that electoral reform would be prioritised).