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

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 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 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…