PM’s oratory at least as good as Blair’s, says Andrew Marr, while Mail asks who pays for Honest Andy’s ‘New Jerusalem’

• UK politics live - latest updates

When assessing British political speeches, even many critics of the New Labour years measure success against Tony Blair, a leader whose podium appearances are regarded as the peak of oratory.

On that measure, Andrew Marr, the former BBC political editor and now the New Statesman’s chief political commentator, reached for the ultimate accolade. “Rather to my surprise, I have to report Andy Burnham is at least as good a platform speaker” as Blair, he said. “Perhaps better.”