The UK’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, laid out a radical agenda in his short speech upon taking office. He called for a long-term strategy to reverse 40 years of Thatcherism, and the privatisation and centralisation that resulted. Wisely, he put a ten-year horizon on these objectives and it is now up to his new chancellor, John Healey, to realise his ambitions.

Sensibly, Burnham has also announced less costly but limited measures to deal with the cost of living and the housing crisis – intended to convince the public that he understands their concerns. So far these include a pledge to cut VAT on electricity bills from October, and to end rough sleeping (with no time frame specified).

The government said that the cut in energy bills is fully funded by scrapping plans for digital IDs. But spending watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has pointed out that the funding for this was set to be covered by further, albeit modest, cuts to other government departments.

Read more: John Healey is the UK’s chancellor: what Burnham’s surprise pick says about his style of government

By appointing Healey, Burnham has reassured the bond markets, which feared the more leftwing Ed Miliband would become chancellor. Healey resigned as defence secretary in June, which played a major role in Keir Starmer’s resignation. His exit was caused by the Treasury refusing to find the funds to allow the UK to reach Nato’s defence spending target of 3% of GDP. Now it will be Healey’s job to find........

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