A change is as good as a rest, they say. Like many such maxims, this is an insightful observation worn down by overuse. It first appeared in 1857 as both the title and catch of an anonymous poem. But the wisdom of this piece of Victorian doggerel has been demonstrated over the week since Andy Burnham’s coronation.

Labour has overtaken Reform in The Spectator’s poll tracker for the first time in almost two years. It’s a very slight lead, well within the margin of error, and varying across the polls, but it’s definitely there.

‘Labour’s comms has been in another league this week compared to what went before.’ That is certainly true, but it is a bit like saying that a packet of Scampi Fries is, as a pub snack, in another league from a handful of gravel

‘Labour’s comms has been in another league this week compared to what went before.’ That is certainly true, but it is a bit like saying that a packet of Scampi Fries is, as a pub snack, in another league from a handful of gravel

And on one level, it’s not surprising. The advent of Burnham has been refreshing. As the week unfolded, I felt an unaccustomed little lift whenever I consulted the news pages. But I realised that this was not down to Burnham so much as the absence of his predecessor. By about last Thursday I was suffused in a fuzzy glow as it finally sunk in that I wasn’t going to be faced with Keir Starmer on a........

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