It is Worlock, however, rather than Runcie, who is now emerging from the historical shadows, 30 years after his death, as a significant and substantial influence on the current political scene. For Worlock was a key factor in the formation of the philosophy of Andy Burnham.

According to Matthew D’Ancona, one of the shrewdest commentators on modern British politics, Worlock was even more influential on the Prime Minister’s political development than the three Labour Party figures he has named as his heroes: Neil Kinnock, David Blunkett and Margaret Beckett. But what precisely was that influence?

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