"He just loves being prime minister," a government insider observes.
asserted
insider → love → ?
Andy Burnham might not yet have delivered his all-important conference speech, but he has been preparing for this moment for years.
uncertain
he → deliver → years
He'll lap up the inevitable whoops and cheers – not just as Labour's leader, but the kind of leader who chimes with the party's rank and file, who puts social justice at the top of his list, who is not averse to cranking up the greatest hits – whether taking a pop at Mrs Thatcher, privatisation, or the divides between north and south.
asserted
who → lap → north
Speaking to MPs, ministers and advisers inside the party, there is no doubt whatsoever that Labour is in a much, much happier place than this time last year.
asserted
Labour → speak → time
There is a very simple reason, according to one cabinet minister, fans of Sir Keir Starmer, look away now, "people like the new prime minister more than they liked the old one – that's the truth of it".
uncertain
that → be → it
Another minister tells me: "There is no appetite for destruction – very little naysaying.
asserted
minister → tell → destruction
"
But Labour is in a position that's been all too rare for all our political parties in the last few years – there are no whispers about chucking out the leader, no-one stirring revolt.
asserted
that → be → revolt
And even those who don't like the direction of travel are labelling their opinions as a desire to be helpful, they're not trying to criticise the boss.
asserted
they → like → boss
"The mood's good – everyone is going into conference with their ears open," one MP said, keen to hear more from the prime minister.
asserted
MP → go → minister
The feel-good factor is also driven by the party inching up a little in the polls – one senior figure says: "We're all witnessing the Burnham bounce – whether that's how you feel when you see the polls, or how we all feel when we have meetings together.
asserted
we → feel → meetings
And those who work inside government also credit a more effective political operation around the prime minister.
asserted
who → work → minister
"The system's better, you get clearer decisions, better steers when you need them," says a minister.
asserted
minister → get → them
Another government source also credits the new Downing Street operation but notes wryly, "it's unfair to compare the end of a regime which is always pretty nasty, with the arrival of a new one which is always more hopeful…
asserted
which → credit → one
these things can change".
asserted
things → change → ?
Some MPs also want to hear Burnham expand on themes they, and the country, have heard plenty about but that aren't specifically defined – "public control" and "re-industrialisation".
asserted
that → want → plenty
And frankly, the happy prime minister would likely be only too glad to talk for as long as necessary about those favourite subjects.
asserted
minister → talk → subjects
But however much he loves being PM there are also less tempting realities he'll have to confront.
asserted
he → love → ?
"It's a new front man," says a minister, "but the song hasn't changed.
asserted
song → say → ?
And the soundtrack to this autumn might prove to be downright miserable.
uncertain
soundtrack → prove → autumn
While Andy Burnham will be pressing the flesh at dozens of party events in the next few days, his Chancellor John Healey will be spending a lot of time holed up in his hotel room making decisions about the Budget which is only a month away.
asserted
which → press → Budget
The pressure on public cash is intense as the budget approaches – the choice for the chancellor doing the rounds is, "10 billion of cuts or 10 billion of tax rises," according to a well-connected senior figure.
uncertain
choice → approach → figure
Treasury sources say they don't recognise that simple number.
asserted
they → say → number
However the figures shake down, the increasing cost of paying the interest on the country's debts weighs heavily.
asserted
cost → shake → debts
It's unusual that a party conference is happening with a budget just weeks away, and it looms over the conference, just as the state of the economy looms over Labour's current feel-good factor.
asserted
state → happen → factor
The UK can't force the US and Iran to find peace, to get traffic flowing freely through the Strait of Hormuz, to bring the oil price down.
asserted
traffic → force → price
Nor can the prime minister make Putin bring his war on Ukraine to an end, with pressure on European gas supply as we enter another winter.
asserted
we → make → winter
There are already predictions of our annual energy bills going up by £500 early next year.
asserted
bills → be → 500
You know the script – higher energy costs raise the spectre of price rises everywhere.
asserted
costs → know → rises
"We're really suffering at the hands of energy prices," says an insider.
asserted
insider → suffer → prices
One influential figure predicts an array of grim economic consequences, unconvinced that Burnham and his team have grasped what might be coming down the track and planned accordingly.
"
uncertain
what → predict → track
The big economic challenges coming – rising housing costs, rising inflation, downward pressure on public spending because of the cost of borrowing, 500 quid on energy from January - I just don't see what the game plan is."
And there are nerves about whether the new No 10 is concentrating on getting the economy growing.
asserted
economy → come → January
Many of Burham's priorities so far are about spending money, not helping people make it.
asserted
people → spend → it
One of his own advisors publicly described the administration as a "traditional tax and spend socialist government with better TikTok".
asserted
One → describe → TikTok
Now, the former business secretary, Peter Kyle, has very politely, but firmly, expressed concern that Burnham and his team are not thinking hard enough about helping the country make money, perhaps more focused on how to spend it.
asserted
country → express → it
You can read more about his comments here.
asserted
You → read → comments
He told me: "We must act with more urgency, and we must feel the need for economic growth as acutely as we do about tackling things like rough sleeping and about social care, and some of the social reforms that we want because they are inextricably linked."
asserted
they → tell → that
Kyle is not the only person in the Labour Party who worries Burnham and Healey are more interested in spending money than helping business generate it.
asserted
business → worry → it
And budget speculation is full of chatter around increasing taxes on property or other assets like stocks and shares.
asserted
speculation → increase → stocks
At the other end of the spectrum there are demands on the left for the prime minister to ease the pressure on less well-paid workers.
asserted
minister → be → workers
One prominent figure warned: "Labour has a second hearing.
asserted
Labour → warn → hearing
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
