Another prime minister arrived at Downing Street today. Andy Burnham became the United Kingdom’s seventh leader in just 10 years.

Burnham takes office after his predecessor, fellow Labour politician Keir Starmer, was ousted after barely two years in office. In his first speech, Burnham pledged to act as a “circuit breaker” for a political and economic system that, he says, has been heading in the wrong direction since the 1980s.

It is an ambitious promise. Recent history suggests the UK’s biggest political challenge isn’t just fixing the country – it’s staying in office long enough to try.