As Keir Starmer found, it takes more than words alone to warm a tepid bath. Voters reserve the greatest punishment for the politicians they think acted too little, or too late, to prevent them getting poorer. For Andy Burnham, much will now depend on whether he has got the right ideas, and in John Healey the right chancellor, to address Britain’s growing affordability crisis: not least as the new prime minister sets out new measures today to give people “some breathing space”.

Before Rachel Reeves took office, the average family was set to be worse off in 2029 than they had been in 2019. That’s not supposed to happen. The norm is for household incomes to rise by about £5,000 (2026 prices) every five years. Never before on modern record have they fallen across an entire decade.

Given the scale of the challenge, the last chancellor ultimately failed to move the dial either far enough or fast enough. That means Healey will inherit essentially the same outlook for living standards as Reeves did. Only this time he has had next to no time to prepare, and will have barely half as much time to act – before having to defend his record at the ballot box.

To make matters worse, the economic situation is even more complicated now too. Household and business spending is drying up and crying out for replenishment through interest rate cuts or government support. But at the same time, inflation and borrowing costs are already elevated, just as fresh price........

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