And so, with the polite good humour for which he is renowned, Andy Burnham gently shredded the reputation of his predecessor – and indeed of other past Prime Ministers, Labour included. Yes, he took pains to praise Sir Keir Starmer’s endeavours and achievements. But he also plainly signalled his discontent with what he billed as “four decades of neo-liberalism.”

There would be, he said, “a new path for Britain”. Which is platitudinous. There would be little point in changing leader unless the direction of political travel also altered.

But how about the promise to be “distinctively Labour”? There was a faint echo here of Tony Blair’s pledge to govern as New Labour, in keeping with his campaign. But only faint. Burnham evidently has different priorities, including public ownership and industrial intervention.

And what about his offer to fix the big things that politics has neglected? He means, principally, social care – with which Scotland has already wrestled. But, again, that is a rebuke to his predecessors, both Conservative and Labour.

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He argues that point-scoring partisan discourse, as practised for previous decades, has demonstrably failed. And that he wants to lead structural change founded upon transferring power to the regions and communities of these islands. Including, where it fits, in Scotland.

To be clear, once more, he is not primarily talking about further powers for the Scottish........

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