Politicians in Britain tend to be remarkably wary of wearing their soul on their sleeve. David Cameron and Boris Johnson both wisecracked that their Christian faith was like the reception for Magic FM in the Chilterns – it comes and goes. Alastair Campbell famously announced of Tony Blair’s administration that “we don’t do God”. But Blair undoubtedly did, eventually converting to Roman Catholicism after he left office. Boris Johnson, baptised a Catholic as a baby, switched to the Church of England – although he later married his third wife, Carrie, in the Catholic Westminster Cathedral.

Now we have Andy Burnham, a cradle Catholic, hovering on the threshold of No 10. But there is a touch of Magic FM about Burnham’s faith. It seems to ebb and flow, going by sometimes contradictory comments about it shaping him and then criticism over the Church, especially over issues to do with sex, such as same-sex marriage.

Last year, though, he indicated its influence during the annual lecture he gave for the religion-meets-politics think-tank Theos. He told the audience that there is a need to move from a crisis of trust to “a culture of encounter”, a phrase he attributed to Pope Francis and which refers to being open to people, especially the most marginalised in society, and those with whom we don’t necessarily agree. He went on to say that........

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