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

Andy Burnham’s partner is expected to play a big role in promoting the UK and could be the most influential PM’s spouse in years Sarah 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 h…