What has all this got to do with Andy Burnham? Three things. First and most simply, he doesn’t hold exactly the same views on everything as Keir Starmer. Some see this as a threat, as though nothing but a North Korean level of leader-worship is acceptable. But a high-functioning 21st-century organisation sees difference as a strength, in which only through contestation can better government emerge. This kind of healthy political contestation shouldn’t be blocked by the NEC.