Andy Burnham's first Commons statement as Prime Minister blamed centralisation, privatisation, austerity and Brexit for Britain's stagnation. We separate the evidence, the promises and the rhetoric. Andy Burnham returned to the House of Commons as Prime Minister with a deliberately sweeping argument about why Britain has struggled to grow, rebuild public services and restore faith in politics. His diagnosis was not cautious. Britain, he told MPs, had taken.

Polling, internal rows and a difficult summer have challenged Reform UK’s image of unstoppable momentum. Farage remains the party’s defining figure, but that is also the risk: when one man is the brand, every problem lands on him. For much of its rise, Reform UK benefited from a story almost as powerful as any individual policy: momentum. The party was growing, the old parties were retreating and Nigel Farage seemed to dominate the political conversation..