Of all the epithets thrown at a new prime minister, “people-pleaser” bounces off Andy Burnham. After all, the polls have him with a favourability rating of 13, making him the only party leader who scores above zero. His manner as he responded to all 125 of his questioners on his first Commons appearance this week had a warmth and empathy that his predecessor lacked. It’s a natural timbre, a good bedside manner for an uneasy country.

Keir Starmer’s rating as he left office was -36. He was defenestrated precisely because of his unpopularity. That baffled his allies, but his ratings crashed early into an electoral death zone from which no leader returns. His revenge comes in giving Labour a potentially awkward byelection confrontation with Zack Polanski: although, just as Burnham defeated the right in Makerfield, any candidate under his leadership stands a good chance of defeating the Greens in Holborn and St Pancras.

Starmer’s fall began soon after Labour’s landslide victory in July 2024 with his message of foreboding gloom in the Downing Street garden. The country faced an economic and societal “black hole”, he said, adding that “things will get worse before they get better”.

Burnham has avoided that kind of misery, on Tuesday making a promise to “unlock a feeling of positivity and possibility” in every part of the country. And why not? Hope is always better than despair. It has its own elevating power that can stimulate growth, social optimism and investment. Even in the face of coming........

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