Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham has revealed that he used to really like The Smiths, but has gone off them a bit in recent years.

In a weirdly lengthy interview with the Independent (one would think his fomulation of a new top-down reorganisation of the health and care service would be enough to keep him occupied), Mr Burnham admitted that he was once a mega fan of the Manchester indie rock drips.

But these days, less so. “I really was into everything that [singer] Morrissey said, every record, I was very into all of that. But then did drift away,” he said.

He’s trying to say he grew up, and good for him. After all, health is grown up stuff, and a man wanting to take charge of it probably shouldn’t be trapped by the passions of his youth.

One man who certainly gives the impression of never having hung on the every word of such a bunch of epically conceited twentysomethings is Norman Lamb.

A quick scroll through the care and support minister’s Twitter feed suggests he’s not much interested in pop music for sensitive people, and that he prefers to go to end of the pier shows in his North Norfolk constituency.