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‘Total class act’: Marie-France van Heel is poised to be a very different PM’s wife

Global Published 1 October 2026, 22:49 · archived 1 Oct 2026

The former marketing executive is expected to play a big role in promoting the UK and could be the most influential spouse in No 10 in yearsSarah Brown called Gordon her hero, Samantha Cameron insisted David was “incredibly funny”, while Akshata Murty said Rishi was her best friend. When Marie-France van Heel spoke about her husband, Andy Burnham, in a rare public interview a decade ago, she joked that she had noticed his “good looks … and monobrow”.The spousal humanising of a party leader is a well-worn political tool, but van Heel is likely to be a very different prime ministerial partner. T...

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