One of the key traits of a successful politician is the capacity to surprise. Andy Burnham has proved he has that ability in his first big call of the new cabinet. For weeks now, the race for Chancellor has dominated in Westminster. Most pundits backed either Ed Miliband or Shabana Mahmood to take up the post: standard bearers for the soft left and Blue Labour factions in the party, respectively. But Burnham has decided to go for a third option: John Healey, the Defence Secretary who quit Keir Starmer’s government 39 days ago over the failure to increase military........

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