ANDY Burnham should use his brief honeymoon well, because he won’t get long. I’ve previously warned about the consequences of the feverish, rolling-news environment in which the upper tier of politics is now managed. Prime Ministerial shelf-life is speculated about like premiership football managers, and seems to begin almost as soon as they take office.

Though I haven’t shared Keir Starmer’s politics, and have strongly disagreed with many of his and his Chancellor’s policy choices, I respected his integrity when compared with his predecessors over the previous decade.

He has generally called the international challenges right and handled his international duties with skill, including his careful child-minding of the UK’s relationship with the US President.

I know politics can be a brutal business, but he deserved better from his fellow Labour parliamentarians. I suspect history will be kinder to him than they have been.

There’s been much commentary on the 10th anniversary of Brexit referendum. I viewed it as a test of UK self-confidence. In the event the answer was negative. That we didn’t see ourselves as leaders in Europe. That we believed we were being taken advantage of, and had become rule-takers and had lost control.

That’s not to say I believed there would be no benefits from Brexit. I acknowledged at the time there was potential to “take back control” of fisheries management and marine conservation. However, even that hasn’t materialised. Indeed, it’s worse—we’re now outside the rooms where decisions are made and have less influence.

Yes, we have blue passports(!), but everything else has gone south. All authoritative sources agree the economy has suffered; now estimated to be at least six per cent smaller than it would have been. Brexit has been a drag on trade and growth, seen a cut in investment, and opportunities — especially for younger people — have shrunk.

Cornwall has been a major loser after decades of EU support. Promises of replacement funding didn’t materialise. I respect those who voted to Leave, and their hopes and desires. But those who led the Brexit campaign should stand up and be accountable. Their lies and stoking of fear may have succeeded, but they it says everything that they have largely avoided public attention during this 10-year review.

Transport, housing and post-16 education dominated my recent visit to the Isles of Scilly. Arriving on the Scillonian through swirling mist, it was the warmth of islanders’ welcome which cut through the gloom.

There was real excitement about the new freight ship, Menawethan, while I was there. However, the cost and resilience of transport remains hotly debated. I continue to press Ministers following a recent parliamentary debate.

I met councillors, businesses and campaigners, and saw progress on new homes for islanders — protected, affordable and energy efficient. Work to improve the offer for post-16 students is also being chased with Ministers.