When John Healey strode up Downing Street on the day Andy Burnham became prime minister, he looked like the cat that had got the cream. He was the first to be called into No 10, and outsiders knew it could mean only one thing: Healey, to the surprise of everyone in Westminster, was to be Chancellor.

These were strange circumstances in which to take control. After weeks of bitter briefings and internal debate over whether Ed Miliband or Shabana Mahmood would make a better Chancellor, Andy Burnham ultimately chose neither. He went for someone the Labour Party could unite around, but also someone seen as less likely than either Miliband or Mahmood to build up his own power base or initiate a power struggle. All the signs were that, as Chancellors go, Healey was to be disempowered.

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