The highlight of next week’s Labour conference is supposed to be the speech by Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday. But Sir Keir, the Labour leader and Prime Minister, is set to be upstaged. He won’t be the centre of attention at the Labour gathering. Instead, all eyes will be on the man many people tip to replace him – Andy Burnham.

Mr Burnham, a former Health Secretary, quit as an MP to become Mayor of Greater Manchester but is now considering a return to Parliament. And he’s making little effort to hide the fact that he’s interested in becoming the next Labour leader, if a vacancy arises. There are desperate Labour MPs who would welcome that, because they fear Keir Starmer is leading them towards a devastating defeat at the next election. In fact, Mr Burnham has revealed that Labour colleagues have been encouraging him to stand for the top job.

And a stunning new opinion poll today suggests Mr Burnham could be Labour’s best hope. Right now, 25% of voters say they plan to support Labour at the next election, with 28% supporting Reform, according to a survey by More in Common. But ask people how they would vote if Mr Burnham was leader and 30% say they would back Labour – putting the party in first place, ahead of Nigel Farage’s Reform.

So a lot of people will be watching Mr Burnham at the Labour event in Liverpool, either because they want him to become leader or just because they are curious to find out what he might do if he was in charge.

In addition, all the media will be watching him, ready to pick up on any sign of division in the Labour ranks.

Mr Burnham has even acknowledged this, saying he will limit his appearances to avoid becoming the centre of attention.

That sounds like he’s trying to be helpful to the current leadership, and perhaps he is. But it also shows that he knows full well that all eyes will be on him.

The Greater Manchester Mayor is due to speak at a small number of “fringe” events, which are panels in rooms or marquees around the conference venue, while Sir Keir Starmer gets the big speech from the main stage in front of thousands of activists.

But despite that, it will be Mr Burnham that is the centre of attention – not the Prime Minister.

One final point to note, however. There may be another challenger waiting in the wings.

Some people at Westminster think Labour’s best hope is not Mr Burnham but instead they are putting their money on Shabana Mahmood, the impressive new Home Secretary.

Ms Mahmood will also be in the spotlight. If I was Keir Starmer, I’d be checking my pension plans are in order and thinking about what I might do in retirement.