Andy Burnham has made a bold start – but convincing people that change is possible will take much more | Frances Ryan

The new PM’s greatest task has long weighed down the left: convincing voters there are actually better days ahead

This is the danger zone. The period when one prime minister leaves office and the next takes over can inspire either dread or delight: a few days in which the country forms a gut reaction to the new government.

One week on, Andy Burnham has well and truly ditched the slow fatalism that marked Keir Starmer’s early days in power, in favour of the message that help is on the way: from cost of living support to a pledge to end rough sleeping and Monday’s commitment to fix the social care system.