The prime minister was coached for five years before entering No 10 – he’s not the only high-profile politician who has had support

What makes a politician an effective public speaker? We may not immediately know the answer, but we know it when we (don’t) see it. Monotone pitch, strangulated vowels or swivel-eyed certainty – these are the people telling us that difficult days lie ahead, or that only their party can deliver a better future. It would be nice if they seemed a bit more normal while they did it.

The good news is, they can get better at it – just ask Keir Starmer. This week it was confirmed that the prime minister worked with a vocal coach, Leonie Mellinger, for five years before entering Downing Street to soften his buttoned-up barrister’s monotone. Indeed, in a testimonial on her website, Starmer says it was Mellinger’s help which “made all of this possible”. Quite the vote of confidence – some of us thought it was the voters.