Labour’s victory in Holborn & St Pancras represents more evidence that Andy Burnham’s leadership of the party is having a positive impact on its electoral fortunes.

We had to wait until the end of Chancellor John Healey's Budget to hear the specifics about housing. Alongside the £430 million set aside to tackle rough sleeping until the end of the Parliament, the Chancellor reaffirmed his commitment to the "Your First Home" programme announced at the Labour Conference; extended cheaper borrowing rules for councils to build more council homes, and established the First Time Buyer ISA to encourage young people who are saving for their first

I’ve lost count of how many Conservative Party Conferences I’ve attended over the years. I’ve stood in conference halls as a parliamentary candidate facing an uphill fight, and as a London council leader trying to make policy work when the rubber actually meets the road.

Andy Burnham promised a different kind of Leader’s Speech this afternoon in Liverpool - and my sense was that he more than delivered. A National Care Service was at the core of the speech, linked to a removal of the state pension triple lock (to be replaced by a double lock from 2030). But this was a speech about giving back to those who still harbour the working class aspiration that his parents held.