Andy Burnham's prime ministerial honeymoon has come to an end, according to political editor Martyn Brown, with three key issues eroding the early goodwill he enjoyed after taking office in July.
Brown argues that the sheen is already coming off the Prime Minister after just 10 weeks in the job, drawing parallels with previous leaders whose early popularity faded quickly.
Triple Lock and Brexit Reversal
At Labour conference in Liverpool this week, Burnham announced the end of the pension Triple Lock and effectively said he would try to reverse Brexit. Both moves target two of the Express's most prominent campaigns, and Brown pledges the newspaper will "fight him all the way" on these totemic issues.
Burnham himself admits he could pay the political price at the ballot box over these decisions.
Snap Election Speculation
Like his mentor Gordon Brown, Burnham has faced mounting speculation that he will call a snap general election. He has denied it will happen, but Brown says nobody in Westminster he has spoken to believes him.
Brown recalls how Gordon Brown's own honeymoon ended less than three months after taking over from Tony Blair, when he allowed speculation about a snap election to run riot before backing down. Then-Tory leader David Cameron accused him of "bottling" it, and Conservatives had beer bottles made up with a "Bottler Brown Ale" sticker.
Manchester City Scandal
The biggest story doing the rounds is the Manchester City scandal. The Premier League has concluded that City "systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade".
Burnham, who pitches himself as Mr Manchester and is a big football fan, has allowed himself to become embroiled in it. His comments in an interview with the BBC, followed by two attempts to backtrack 24 hours later, are his biggest self-inflicted tangle since arriving in Downing Street.
The scandal matters for the club, for Manchester, for the Premier League and for the UK's image around the world, because England's top flight is a colossal global brand. Burnham now finds himself caught up in it at a local, national and diplomatic level.
Brown concludes that a scandal involving his beloved Manchester has "pretty much brought an end to his prime ministerial honeymoon".
