According to a word cloud produced by pollsters More in Common and discussed at Labour's annual conference, the adjective most associated with Prime Minister Andy Burnham is 'trying'. Party strategists have seized on the term as evidence that voters recognise the government is doing its best despite global headwinds.
At a cabinet away day at Chequers and a meeting for special advisers, the theme that the government is working to improve lives was emphasised. 'The public think the only person that can reach those levers is you,' a government insider said. 'We have to avoid the sense of things being out of our control.'
A party strategist added: 'Voters don't want us to put our hands up in despair; they want us to roll our sleeves up. They don't want us to be helpless in the face of global stuff; they want answers.'
However, behind the scenes there is anxiety that big promises — such as those Burnham made at conference on social care, the pensions triple lock, the EU and electoral reform — will not be enough to satisfy voters before the next general election. 'If voters aren't better off by the next election, we're screwed,' one Labour insider said.
While Labour MPs are relieved to have a leader with a clear political direction, the pressure to deliver tangible improvements before the next election remains acute.