The state of the health service is one of the key metrics on which this government will be judged. Of course this is to some extent true for all governments. But it is particularly so for a Labour administration that made the revival of the NHS part of its core pitch to voters.

Such assessments of progress are all the more pressing in the context of Sir Keir Starmer’s increasingly beleaguered leadership. With Wes Streeting widely recognised to be among a handful of possible successors, colleagues and party members will be asking: has he delivered what they and voters hoped?

In terms of frontline improvements, the answer is no, or not yet. After falling for six months in a row, hospital waiting lists in England recently rose slightly. And while ministers point to figures showing that the overall numbers of GP and hospital appointments have increased, research reveals ongoing

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