Labour is caught between sunny aspiration and cold reality. All around the conference centre in Liverpool are banners with the party’s slogan: Hope Again. This phrase, perhaps the perfect encapsulation of Andy Burnham’s appeal, is emblazoned on the back of the stage as various ministers stand up to give their speeches.

The party is back in the optimism business. It must convince voters that competent mainstream politics can deliver the goods and kill the sense of malaise that sits like a cloud over Britain.

But the basic economic reality facing the country is not a sunny one. It is merciless and partly out of our control. As chancellor John Healey prepared to give his speech to the Labour party conference this lunchtime, oil rose above $108 a barrel. UK ten-year gilts rose to 5.43 per cent – a level close to that of the 2008 financial crash.

None of this is Healey’s fault. He came to office after austerity, Brexit, Covid, the war in Ukraine and the ineptitude of Liz Truss. He was not responsible for Donald Trump’s insane trade war policy or his even more ill-advised conflict with Iran. But it is nevertheless where we are: in the bad........

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