John Healey has tried so far as chancellor to suggest that he is part of a ‘continuity’ Labour government – largely because he hopes that this will reassure the nervous bond markets that Andy Burnham isn’t going to veer off to the left on public spending and borrowing. It has sparked some speculation that the two men aren’t on the same page. Today, in his first speech in the job, the Chancellor insisted that they were in fact ‘in lockstep’ – which is the kind of assertion a politician only makes when there are doubts about the relationship. To be fair, he said they were in ‘lockstep in our commitment to meeting the fiscal rules at the upcoming Budget, to balancing the books with a buffer to protect against uncertainty, to controlling borrowing to bear down on inflation, and........

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