Where will Andy Burnham take Wales and Welsh devolution?

In his 2024 book, Head North, Andy Burnham asks the reader to "imagine a rambling stately home" with a "rickety old electricity system".

The lights work well in the main living room, he says, telling the reader to think of that space as Greater London.

In the main bedroom - which he'll call Scotland - the lights "flicker but they do work".

And then there are two smaller bedrooms where the lights are "much dimmer". These represent Wales and Northern Ireland in Burnham's analogy.

In his book, co-written with Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, Burnham puts forward a plan to "rewire the country" by taking power out of Westminster and putting it in the hands of people across the UK.

So, with Burnham now poised to take over as Prime Minister in the coming weeks, where would his coronation leave Wales and Welsh devolution?

"He genuinely believes the best way to tackle some of the most difficult problems we have is to devolve power rather than hold it at the centre, rather than let it all be controlled from Number 10 and the Treasury at a UK level," said Labour peer and long-time Burnham backer, Lord Brennan of Canton.

The current Labour government has faced criticism from many Welsh Labour colleagues in Cardiff for resisting calls to devolve more powers, including over policing and justice.

"I think Andy has a more instinctive understanding of devolution than perhaps Keir Starmer did, and perhaps some other politicians in the UK government have," Lord Brennan added.

And yet, Burnham seems to have already U-turned on his position that the funding formula used to determine how much money the devolved nations get from Westminster - and which critics say short-changes Wales because it's mainly based on population share - should be replaced.

In his book, Burnham makes the case for a new formula where "funding would be allocated based on social factors and levels of need".

"If we don't do something like this," he warns, "the North-South divide will only widen in the decades ahead."

However, this week a Burnham spokesperson told BBC Wales that, while he would "put Wales at the centre of any government he runs", he had no plans to reform the funding formula.

Dr Ed Poole from Cardiff University wasn't surprised by the change in tone.

"There's been lots of political parties and political leaders of every stripe who've wanted to go to Westminster to reform the Barnett formula [but] that has always been put on the back burner the closer a leader gets to Number 10 or, perhaps even more importantly, Number 11," he said.

"If you were to scrap the Barnett formula overnight, you'd be taking many billions of pounds out of the Scottish budget.

"That's levels of austerity that would be really pretty unthinkable, particularly in the context of the constitutional debate in Scotland.

"It's a Pandora's box that any new government - particularly one that's not coming in with a new electoral mandate - would not want to open."

Critics have also accused the Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens of being anti-devolution.

She said this week that she was backing Burnham to be the next prime minister.

The UK's constitutional future will be a big issue for the new prime minister, who'll have to engage with leaders in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland who believe, ultimately, that their country shouldn't be part of the United Kingdom.

The Welsh first minister is ready to talk.

"What I want from Andy Burnham, if he becomes Prime Minister, is an understanding of devolution and the context in which I lead Wales," Rhun ap Iorwerth said.

"He will understand the need to get powers right, to get funding right.

"That has to be based on respect, which is why I have genuinely offered a constructive relationship with him, as I did with Keir Starmer."

Teens praised for helping collapsed man, 74, get to hospital

Welsh teens arrested in Thailand prompting police probe

The kind-hearted newsagent murdered for his takings - could a review find his killer?