A 1970s adage attributed to the former Tory chancellor Reginald Maudling maintained that Britain was essentially a Conservative country that sometimes voted Labour. That was always a questionable assertion, given the defining postwar role of Labour in shaping a fairer social settlement. But the trauma of successive election victories by Margaret Thatcher from 1979 onwards meant that senior figures on the centre left began to think along similar lines; a sometimes debilitating caution crept into the leadership of a party founded to serve those outside the gilded circles of money, power and influence.
Outside 10 Downing Street on his first day as prime minister, Andy Burnham in effect argued that only through being braver and truer to its original vocation can Labour restore faith in politics and renew a disillusioned nation. Mr Burnham’s striking pledge to end rough sleeping may be something of a hostage to fortune. As mayor of Greater Manchester he could only partially deliver on the same commitment. But on the day he entered No 10, it vividly conveyed what was meant when he talked about “the right values and the right standards”.
