Andy Burnham is playing the long game in an age of short attention spans | Rafael Behr

It is hard to make the case for a 10-year plan in our political culture of constant campaigning frenzy – but the new PM will try It all sounded feasible but improbable. A few days after Labour’s disastrous performance in local and devolved elections in May, one of Andy Burnham’s allies confidently forecast for me the sequence of events that would convey the then mayor of Greater Manchester to No 10. A friendly MP would surrender a parliamentary seat. Keir Starmer would be persuaded to resign.…