Andy Burnham was officially confirmed in London today as the new leader of the Labour Party, and in three days' time he is set to become Prime Minister. For those of us in Culcheth, that is quite the sentence to read over a brew - the lad who grew up here is about to walk into Downing Street.
None of this has exactly come out of the blue. Ever since Burnham's commanding win in the Makerfield by-election, after Labour's frankly awful local election results, Keir Starmer looked like a man borrowing time he did not really have. Sir Keir resigned on June 22 after losing support from ministers and MPs, and from that point the leadership race had all the suspense of a bus timetable in August - technically there, but not doing much.
Burnham had the public backing of more than 90% of Labour MPs, no other candidates entered the contest, and there was no public vote among Labour members. Efficient, yes. Democratic pageant, not exactly. Calling it a race feels generous when only one person turned up with their trainers on.
Still, Labour clearly wanted certainty, and Burnham has plenty of political weight. He is a former Greater Manchester Mayor, he has built a reputation as someone who actually bothers talking about the North as more than a backdrop for campaign photos, and he has managed to seem more grounded than the usual Westminster parade of polished fog. That will appeal to a lot of people who are thoroughly fed up with politics being run like a private members' club inside the M25.
On Monday, Starmer will make his final address, go to see King Charles, and resign. Burnham will then make the same trip, ask the monarch for permission to form a government, and head to Downing Street to deliver his first speech as Prime Minister. British politics does love a ceremony - if in doubt, add a car, a palace, and some awkward waving.
Where Burnham does deserve real credit is on devolution. He has been clear that he wants power pushed away from Westminster, and one of his headline ideas is a new 'Number 10 North' based in Manchester, an arm of the Prime Minister's office focused on spreading power around the country. On paper, that is exactly the sort of thing places like Culcheth, Warrington, and the wider North have been crying out for. Westminster has had centuries to prove it understands life outside London, and the results have been mixed at best, insulting at worst.
That said, there is also a fair criticism hanging over all this: Burnham has not yet set out a huge amount of specific policy detail. Big themes are all very well, but sooner or later 'power to the regions' has to become actual decisions, actual budgets, and actual improvements people can feel. Voters are not daft, and they are long past being impressed by warm words and a nicely ironed slogan.
So yes, there is a bit of local pride in seeing someone from Culcheth reach the top job. It is not every day the village gets a mention in the same breath as No 10. But pride aside, he now inherits a country with very little patience, a party that has just been through a bruising spell, and a public mood that can turn sharper than a January wind across the Common. The promotion is impressive. The hard part starts the moment the car door closes in Downing Street.