A new economic direction for Britain?

Perhaps the most market-relevant comments concerned Britain's future relationship with Europe. Burnham stated that Brexit has done "more harm than good" and suggested there is scope to develop a closer economic relationship with the European Union in future.

Investors have little interest in relitigating the arguments of the past decade. The more important question is whether closer economic ties could improve trade flows, encourage investment and support productivity growth. The UK's productivity performance has been disappointing for many years, and anything that improves the movement of goods, services, capital or labour could have meaningful implications for long-term growth.

This brings us to the key question for financial markets. Many investors instinctively associate greater state involvement and higher public spending with higher inflation and higher interest rates. In the short term, markets may well focus on the fiscal costs associated with these proposals.

However, the longer-term picture is more nuanced. The crucial distinction is between spending that boosts demand and investment that expands supply. If investment in housing, infrastructure, energy systems and labour market participation genuinely increases the productive capacity of the economy, then stronger growth need not necessarily be accompanied by persistently higher inflation.

This is likely to be one of the key debates in UK markets over the coming years.

Investors can often become preoccupied with the next inflation reading, central bank decision or quarter's earnings results. Andy Burnham's conference speech was notable because it focused on a much longer horizon.

Rather than discussing the next six months, it sought to address how Britain might look over the next decade. Whether the proposed reforms succeed remains uncertain, but they represent an attempt to tackle some of the structural weaknesses that have constrained the UK's growth potential for many years.

For advisers, the key takeaway is not to view the speech purely as a political event. Markets will eventually decide whether these policies are capable of improving productivity, increasing labour supply and supporting long-term economic growth. If investors become convinced that Britain's future economic potential is improving, the most significant market impact may ultimately come not from the size of government spending, but from a reassessment of the country's long-term growth prospects.

And that could prove far more important than the politics of the moment.