The Environment Agency (EA) has issued warnings for 99 areas in the UK, mostly across southern England, the southern Welsh border, and the East Midlands.

However, flooding is possible in a further 170 locations.

At least 300 properties have been flooded so far, the EA estimates.

Environment Agency issues flood warnings across UK this week

Andrew Hitchings, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: “With another band of rain on its way, we need the public to remain vigilant to the risk of flooding.

“As well as significant groundwater remaining likely in parts of Dorset and Wiltshire, there are risks of significant river flooding impacts on the Somerset Levels, with minor river flooding impacts expected in parts of the East Midlands and probable in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.”

The warnings follow what the Met Office described as “the wettest January on record” for parts of the UK, including Cornwall and County Down.

A yellow weather warning for rain remained in place for much of southern Wales and England until midnight on Monday, while yellow warnings will be in place in parts of eastern Scotland on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Met Office says disruption and possible flooding could be seen in eastern Scotland on Tuesday, with 15-30mm of rain likely to fall widely and 40-60mm possible in places over higher ground.

Mr Hitchings said: “So far, more than 16,000 homes and businesses have been protected but sadly 300 have suffered flooding and our thoughts are with those communities affected.

“Our teams will continue to do all they can to support local people, with pumps, temporary barriers and by clearing waterways to ensure flood water can drain away.”

When will it stop raining in the UK?

The persistent rainfall has already pushed England above its seasonal winter average for rainfall, with parts of the West Country recording more than 30 consecutive days of rain.

Simon Partridge, senior operational meteorologist at the Met Office, warned that the unsettled weather is likely to continue.

Mr Partridge said: “There is currently no sign of any prolonged dry weather for the next seven to 10 days.”

The Met Office forecast warns of further rain this week, before turning colder this weekend.

Recommended reading:

Today, (February 10), there will be a cloudy start for many with outbreaks of rain, before a “spell of heavy showery rain” moves into the south and “outbreaks of rain” continue in the north.

Wednesday (February 11) will see cloudy conditions continue with “outbreaks of rain for most”.

The Met Office adds that the outlook for Thursday (February 12) to Saturday (February 14) will be “unsettled at first with further outbreaks of rain. Turning colder from Friday with a chance of snow showers, particularly in the north”.

Readers will still be able to use the facility for a further 12 months while work continues to find it “a permanent new home”

Cambuslang residents have welcomed news of a further chapter in the story of the town’s library, which is now set to remain open for another year.

Readers and staff had been concerned that two years of additional funding announced after the library was originally announced for closure in 2024 was due to expire next month – but now South Lanarkshire Council has announced that it will continue to be retained for the next 12 months.

The additional funding will be used to maintain the service “while efforts continue to find a new home in a community hub”, with the area’s community council currently working to scope out local options.

Located at Cambuslang Gate, the town’s library was one of seven included in a list of 35 community facilities to be closed by South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture following a £750,000 budget cut two years ago.

A £150,000 future libraries fund was then established by the council to “provide time for plans to be developed for alternative models of provision”, with some of the under-threat facilities since moving into new spaces, including Halfway and Blantyre respectively now being run from as part of LEAP Project’s community hub and in the area’s leisure centre.

Now council leader Joe Fagan has announced a further year’s funding for Cambuslang, with the authority this week confirming that the library “is to remain open for a further year as efforts continue to find it a permanent new home”.

READ MORE: Clyde cycle park opens new 1km extensionREAD MORE: Pavement parking exemptions considered for 40 South Lanarkshire streets

Cambuslang Community Council chair John Bachtler told the Rutherglen Reformer that residents are “very pleased and relieved” by the reprieve keeping the library open past March – as the group leads the efforts to secure its long-term location.

The group is currently looking at two locations on Main Street to establish a community hub, and remains in discussion with the local authority about future funding and staffing.

John said: “The library is such a vital resource for so many people in Cambuslang – now the third-largest town in South Lanarkshire – and it absolutely needs to be retained.

“We’re grateful for the efforts of our elected members, especially our Cambuslang West councillors, to make the case for the library during difficult budget negotiations within the council.

“For the past 15 months, the community council has been looking at the feasibility of a new community hub on Main Street which could accommodate the library and other activities in a way that is financially self-sustaining; we are in discussion with the landlords of two buildings that would have space.

“The council has been supportive in providing funding for professional surveys and valuations, but there are crucial questions of how the library, and importantly the staffing, would be funded in a future hub. We have a meeting with council officials later this month to discuss these questions further.”

READ MORE: North Lanarkshire set to miss out on World Cup bank holidayREAD MORE: Bothwell Futures earns double funding boost

Constituency MSP Clare Haughey said the confirmation of extended funding had come after a period of concern among library users and staff in which they had feared as recently as last week that no funding was allocated to keep the library’s doors open after the end of the current financial year.

The Rutherglen representative said on Facebook: “I welcome the council finally committing funding to Cambuslang Library post-March after public and political pressure.

“I’m really grateful for the efforts of Cambuslang Community Council who are seeking to find an alternative when South Lanarkshire Council shamefully stops funding any library provision in Cambuslang in the near future – residents deserve so much better than the services they are receiving.”

READ MORE: NHS Lanarkshire to invest £4 million in early years health

South Lanarkshire Council leader Joe Fagan said: “We have already taken steps to keep Cambuslang Library open, and I can confirm that temporary funding will continue while a permanent solution is found.

“This will be a relief to local library users and provide them with certainty and a good degree of comfort. The council will continue to work with the community to secure a permanent solution for local services buffeted by the twin terrors of rising costs and government under-funding.”

*Don’t miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.

And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here.

READ MORE: King Charles sends best wishes to Rutherglen’s 900th anniversary launch event

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In 2026, the beauty industry is inundated with thousands upon thousands of products – from must-have lengthening mascaras and glass skin face masks to K-Beauty buys and filter-perfect concealers.

The list goes on.

With the 2016 throwback trend taking social media by storm, we thought we’d follow suit and throw it back to when beauty was simpler: in the Y2K era.

This is back when products like Maybelline’s Dream Matte Mousse Foundation were everywhere (and was even applied to lips), Lip Smackers were the collectables everyone was after from Claire’s Accessories, and everyone smelt of CK One or DKNY Be Delicious. 

So, why not relive the glory days of the beauty world and shop some of the most nostalgic Y2K beauty products below?

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Best Y2K beauty picks

L’Oreal Paris Elnett Hairspray

L’Oréal Elnett is the hairspray that defined polished Y2K hair, boasting a strong hold without the dreaded crunch. Loved by hairstylists and beauty editors alike, it kept blowouts sleek, fringes perfectly in place and up-dos immovable all night.

The fine mist and brush-out formula made it feel grown-up and glamorous, earning it a permanent spot backstage at fashion shows and in bathroom cabinets everywhere. And who could forget that unforgettable smell?

shop £3.86 (save £1.29)

Benefit Hoola bronzer

One of, if not the most recognisable bronzer of the era was none other than Benefit’s Hoola.

Launching in 2001, it quickly flew off the shelves as the product that would transform your visage from pale to sun-kissed in seconds. If you owned Hoola, you used it – generously.

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shop £33

Urban Decay Naked 3 Eyeshadow Palette

Back when smokey eyes became a big thing, with the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton sporting the look, the darker and more dramatic the eye look, the better.

The palette that would help achieve this would be Urban Decay’s OG Naked eyeshadow palette. Packed with a variety of natural nudes and soft shimmers, it was everyone’s go-to.

shop £39

MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 Foundation

A true cult classic, MAC Studio Fix Fluid was the foundation of THE 2000s and early 2010s.

Known for its full coverage and matte finish, it helped create that flawless, camera-ready complexion seen on celebs like Kim Kardashian. With a then-impressive shade range, it became a makeup-counter staple and the foundation many people used for their first.

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Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade

We all remember when heavily filled-in brows were a thing, right? Well, this was the product to help you achieve that look and say goodbye to skinny brows.

When it launched, it single-handedly defined the heavily filled-in, sharp-edged brow trend of the early 2010s. Waterproof, ultra-pigmented and long-lasting, it was a favourite of makeup artists and YouTubers alike.

shop £19

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara Blackest Black

When most of us think of an iconic mascara, our minds instantly take us to the Maybelline Great Lash, always remembering that pink and green tube sticking out of our mum’s and nan’s makeup bags.

Despite being around since the 1970’s, this was the trusty product everyone owned to give them that natural, lash-defining finish.

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shop £4.80 (save £3.19)

Charlie Red Body Spray

No, Charlie wasn’t that annoying boy that broke your heart; it was the body spray everyone had in the school PE bags, filling changing rooms and classrooms with the iconic scent.

Sweet, bold and unmistakably ’90s-meets-Y2K, it became one of the most recognisable fragrances of the era, the scent equivalent of lip gloss and butterfly clips. If you grew up then, this smell is pure time travel.

shop £1

Lancôme Juicy Tubes Lip Gloss

No product screams Y2K quite like Juicy Tubes. Ultra-glossy, slightly sticky and impossibly shiny, they were the lip product of the early 2000s.

Loved by celebrities, pop stars and beauty editors, they came in sheer, frosted and glittery shades that made lips look instantly plump. Owning one felt luxurious, and pulling it out of your bag was a status move.

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shop £21 (save £5)

St Moriz Professional Medium Tanning Mousse

Fake tan was non-negotiable in the 2000’s, especially when the likes of TOWIE took over UK television.

St.Moriz quickly became a favourite for many as it delivered that bronzy glow at a bargain price. It was great for night outs, special occasions and summer glows, and now it’s still so many people’s go-to.

shop £4.99

Britney Spears Fantasy Eau de Parfum Spray

The singer’s Fantasy fragrance wasn’t just a perfume; it was a pop culture moment.

Launched in 2005, the sugary sweet blend of kiwi, white chocolate and musk perfectly captured peak Britney-era energy. The pink bottle alone became iconic and would be found on everyone’s vanity. For many, it’s the ultimate nostalgia fragrance.

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shop £49 (save £27.01)

The Body Shop Shea Body Butter

The Body Shop itself is a brand that is steeped in pure nostalgia, and before ‘self-care’ was a buzzword, there was the high street hero.

The Shea version of their body butter was and still is a rich, comforting formula that aims to replenish dry skin. Thick, nourishing and instantly recognisable by scent, it was a staple in bathrooms throughout the 2000s.

shop £19.94

Eylure False Lashes – Volume No. 112

Flash lashes became a requirement in the late 2000’s, and Eylure was the brand that everyone went to to get them. Volume No. 112 delivered full, fluttery lashes that added instant drama, perfect for nights out, parties and early Instagram selfies.

Affordable and easy to apply, they helped normalise strip lashes as an everyday glam essential, cementing Eylure’s cult status.

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John Nugent, 86, died at his address on Singleton Grove, Westhoughton on Friday, February 6.

Officers have stated that there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

GMP shared the appeal to help trace the relatives of people who have died before establishing a cause of death.

In UK law, there is no legal definition of “next of kin”, but it is usually understood to be the closest relative, whether a partner, parent, child or sibling.

It is believed John, who was born in Ireland, had previously lived in Farnworth and lived in Altrincham before that.

So far, no members of John’s family have come forward.

Those with more information should Call the Police Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 4687 as soon as possible.

The Cleveland Police officer is subject to a disciplinary hearing next month following reports of his behaviour from more than three years ago.

It is alleged that between July and October 2022, Officer X subjected Officer A to unwanted and/or inappropriate behaviour. The behaviour of Officer X was such that Officer A requested they never be crewed together again.

Read more:

Thereafter, Officer X continued to subject Officer A to unwanted and/or inappropriate behaviour. This was also at a time when Officer A was in their probationary period.

And a second allegation on the force website states that between June and October 2022, Officer X subjected Officer B to unwanted and/or inappropriate behaviour. This was also at a time when Officer B was in their probationary period.

The officer is accused of breaching the standards of professional behaviour for police officers, specifically the standards relating to equality and diversity as well as authority, respect and courtesy.

The disciplinary hearing will take place at Scotswood House, Thornaby Place, Thornaby, next month.

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — As the Winter Olympics opened in Milan, Vice President JD Vance hailed the competition as “one of the few things that unites the entire country.”

That unity didn’t last long.

The early days of the Milan Cortina Games have been roiled by the tumultuous political debate in the U.S. American athletes have faced persistent questions about President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement agenda and their comfort in representing a country whose policies are increasingly controversial on the world stage.

“There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of and I think a lot of people aren’t,” American freestyle skier Hunter Hess said as he spoke of the “mixed emotions” of representing the U.S. “If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing it. Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”

That prompted a fast response from Trump, who said on social media that Hess was a “real loser” who “shouldn’t have tried out for the team.”

“Very hard to root for someone like this,” the president added.

The criticism of an American athlete from a U.S. president was a sharp departure from the unifying, apolitical tones the White House typically strikes during the Olympics, highlighting how the tension over the enforcement of Trump’s immigration policies has now bled into athletic competition. Other leading conservative voices, ranging from podcaster Megyn Kelly to a Republican candidate for governor in Florida, added to the critique of Hess, with some calling for him to be taken off the U.S. team.

By Monday, other top athletes who have previously found themselves in political controversy were rallying to Hess’ defense.

“In moments like these, it is really important for us to unite and kind of stand up for one another for all that’s going on,” said Chloe Kim, the two-time Olympic gold medalist whose parents are South Korean immigrants and who has faced racism throughout her career for her Asian heritage.

After her silver-medal win in slopestyle, Eileen Gu, who was born in San Francisco and competes for China, said she had been in touch with Hess, who told her she was one of the few people who could relate to what he’s going through.

“As someone who’s been caught in the crossfire before, I feel sorry for the athletes,” said Gu, whose decision to compete for China drew sharp critiques.

The Olympics are never walled off from politics

The Olympics are never walled off from political and cultural debates. The raised fists of Tommie Smith and John Carlos during the 1968 Olympics remain one of the most powerful and enduring images of protest and resistance to racial injustice in the U.S. Since then, political commentary from athletes has become more commonplace, aided by social media platforms that allow competitors to share their real-time thoughts on everything from food and nutrition to news of the day.

The comments from athletes in Italy are notable, however, because they’re coming at the biggest global sporting event to occur since federal agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis last month, reigniting a debate in the U.S. and abroad over Trump’s hard-line immigration measures.

Chris Lillis, another American freestyle skier, said he felt “heartbroken about what’s happening in the United States.”

“As a country, we need to focus on respecting everybody’s rights and making sure that we’re treating our citizens as well as anybody with love and respect,” he said. “I hope that when people look at athletes competing in the Olympics, they realize that that’s the America that we’re trying to represent.”

Skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin quoted Nelson Mandela as she acknowledged “a lot of hardship in the world globally, and there’s a lot of heartbreak, there’s a lot of violence.”

“It can be tough to reconcile that when you’re also competing for medals in an Olympic event,” she said. “I’m really hoping to show up and represent my own values, values of inclusivity, values of diversity and kindness and sharing, tenacity, work ethic, showing up with my team every single day.”

For the most part, athletes are largely engaging in political conversation during news conferences when they’re specifically asked to respond to news events. At one such press event, American figure skater Amber Glenn, an outspoken LGBTQ+ rights activist, noted that the queer community is going through a “hard time” under Trump. She later said she would step back from social media after receiving threats on the platform.

Political controversy can put athletes at an uneasy intersection as they weigh whether to use their platforms to take a stance or avoid anything that might upset their fans or sponsors. During last month’s Australian Open tennis tournament, American Amanda Anisimova said questions about U.S. politics were not “relevant.” Another American player, Taylor Fritz, said he felt that “whatever I say here is going to get put in a headline and it’s going to get taken out of context.”

“So I’d really rather not do something that’s going to cause a big distraction for me in the middle of the tournament,” he said.

Back at the Olympics, U.S. speedskater Casey Dawson, said “we definitely know the whole situation going on in the USA” while noting that “politics don’t apply to us” at the Games.

“We’re here to skate,” said Dawson, who finished eighth in the men’s 5,000 meters on Sunday with Vance and his family in the stands. “We’re here to skate. We’re here to perform.”

The spotlight on the U.S. that comes with global sports will only intensify in the coming years. The U.S., along with Canada and Mexico, will host this year’s World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles. While there’s little chance that political tensions in the U.S. will ease in that time, some hope that sports will serve as a way for people to process their disagreements and ultimately come together.

“There’s this really magical thing that sport can do,” said Ashleigh Huffman, who was the chief of sports diplomacy at the State Department during the Biden and first Trump administrations. “It can lower the temperature of the room.”

___

Sloan reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Howard Fendrich and Graham Dunbar in Milan contributed to this report.

The leader of Hong Kong has celebrated the 20-year jail sentence given to British pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai, saying the media tycoon had “poisoned” the city.

John Lee was defiant in the face of criticism from Western nations, including the UK, following the 78-year-old’s sentencing yesterday.

He was found guilty ​of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one ​count of publishing seditious materials last December.

Mr Lai denied all the charges and said he was a “political prisoner” facing persecution from Beijing. His son, Sebastien, told Sky News it was “essentially a life sentence… a death sentence”.

Sir Keir Starmer had been under pressure to raise Mr Lai’s case with China’s Xi Jinping when he visited the country last month.

While the government is seeking closer economic ties with Beijing, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Mr Lai’s prosecution was “politically motivated” and expressed concern for his health.

But China remains defiant despite the criticism, which has also come from the likes of the US and the UN.

China’s London embassy described Ms Cooper’s comments as “erroneous”, and accused the UK of “interfering in Hong Kong’s rule of law”.

Since Mr Lai was sentenced, the Beijing regime has released a white paper outlining plans to further enhance a draconian national security law that has been used to clamp down on free speech and dissent in Hong Kong.

Read more:
What is the China’s national security law?

The city, which Britain handed over in 1997, was the scene of huge pro-democracy protests in 2019. The white paper described the security law as a “legal shield” that had restored order.

Mr Lee said Mr Lai’s sentencing sent a “solemn warning against malicious plots” that endanger national security, and welcomed the white paper’s publication.

Mr Lai’s sentencing came more than five years after he was arrested. The founder of the now defunct Apple Daily newspaper is a long-standing critic of ⁠the Chinese Communist Party.

‘The embodiment of what they fear’

Speaking after the verdict, Sky’s Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith said she spoke to Mr Lai’s biographer Mark Clifford last month.

“He’s really the embodiment of what they fear,” she cited the author and close friend of the jailed tycoon as saying.

“A principled person, absolutely refusing to back down, smart, articulate, and crucially with a platform.”

The site of Tudhoe Grange School, on Durham Road, was transformed into a 1960s police station for the seventh series of Inspector George Gently, the long-running BBC crime drama starring Martin Shaw and Lee Ingelby.

For several months, the disused school building served as the show’s production base while four 90-minute episodes were filmed across County Durham and the wider North East.

Tudhoe Grange School in Spennymoor (Image: GOOGLE MAPS)

Classrooms were converted into offices and interview rooms, while the frontage was dressed with period police cars and signage to match the drama’s 1960s setting.

At the time, Inspector George Gently was one of the BBC’s most successful crime dramas, regularly attracting audiences of around seven million viewers when episodes aired on BBC One later that year.

The decision to film in Spennymoor followed the closure of Tudhoe Grange School in 2012, when it merged with Spennymoor School to form Whitworth Park School and Sixth Form College.

Martin Shaw (Image: ARCHIVE)

While the future of the 100-year-old building was still undecided, its temporary use by the BBC ensured the site remained occupied and maintained.

Plus, with most of the series of Inspector George Gently already filmed in the region anyway, it gave producers a perfect opportunity to use the former school.

BBC representatives at the time said the school was ideally suited to the series, both visually and practically, offering a period-appropriate exterior alongside enough internal space to house sets and production offices.

Tudhoe Grange School in Spennymoor (Image: GOOGLE MAPS)

At the time, the show’s publicist, Deborah Goodman, said: “Period-wise, the school really works for us.

“It has a great frontage to put our sixties police cars out front, and the interior is great; we can make the police station sets work and have enough room for the production team to have its offices there.

“It has made a huge difference to the series to film it where it is supposed to be set, in and around Northumberland.”

Local leaders also welcomed the production, citing economic benefits for nearby businesses and the wider area, as well as the novelty of seeing a familiar local landmark appear on national television.

Now in 2026, the school’s brief transformation remains a notable moment in the town’s recent history.

When they disintegrate, governments often do so slowly, then quickly. Despite dragooned public statements of support from the cabinet, the government of Keir Starmer gives every appearance of entering that second phase.

In the wake of the scandal surrounding former Washington ambassador Peter Mandelson and his ties to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Starmer lost his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who had championed Mandelson for the role. Then the PM lost his press secretary, Tim Allan.

Then, in a live press conference, he lost the leader of the Scottish Labour party, Anas Sarwar. Eighteen months ago, Starmer could not have been closer to Sarwar. Now he has cut his national leader adrift and called for Starmer to resign.

Sarwar is not in Westminster. Sarwar has to fight an election in Scotland in May, and Starmer and the Westminster Labour government has been a liability for Scottish Labour for over a year. Sarwar had to act to have any chance of mounting a challenge against the governing Scottish National Party in those elections.

Sarwar’s actions may be be the most impactful, owing to the political momentum he has now so dramatically accelerated. But McSweeney’s resignation is the more significant development. The last line of defence for a prime minister is their chief of staff, and Sweeney was much more than that.

Party leaders and prime ministers have come not to be able to live without them, but so often are forced to. The chief of staff is part human, part metaphor: a conduit, a pressure valve, a lightning rod.

When forced out, their principal rarely lasts long, albeit as much for the related erosion of their authority as prime minister as in what that chief of staff may personally have provided. But McSweeney, a brilliant electoral tactician and party organiser with no experience of government, was also in the wrong job. And Starmer put him there.

The Mandelson scandal

Much of what is taking place is what takes place when governments are old, or infirm, but much is also new, or at least new in effect. To write a rudimentary historical political equation: Marconi plus Profumo equals Mandelson.

The 1912 Marconi scandal revolved around shady share dealing on the part of those around the chancellor of the exchequer, David Lloyd George. The 1963 Profumo affair involved the minister for war sharing his bed with a woman who also shared hers with the Russian naval attache – and in the year of the Cuban missile crisis.

À lire aussi :
The fall of Peter Mandelson and the many questions the UK government must now answer

Marconi remains the most serious financial scandal in modern British politics, though Lloyd George survived. John Profumo resigned, but for lying to MPs. No secrets were divulged, but the political establishment was discredited, and the lives of young women were ruined. The Mandelson scandal combines both, and to greater effect. And is still ongoing.

The effect of Epstein continues to corrode. Endless news channel recycling of footage of Starmer and Mandelson roaring with tactile laughter as they approach the cameras at the UK embassy in Washington DC only a year ago has become a visual backdrop to the crisis. The king is now routinely heckled in public over Epstein.

The end of the line?

The history of chiefs of staff is a short one. The first chief, indicative of the move to an increasingly presidential premiership, was Jonathan Powell, who served without personal controversy throughout Tony Blair’s decade as prime minister. Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy provided the political smarts for (another politically dysfunctional) prime minister, Theresa May. They accepted responsibility for the disastrous 2017 general election, but only delayed May’s defenestration.

Harold Wilson had his “kitchen cabinet”, including Marcia Williams, Joe Haines and Gerald Kaufman, who damaged the prime minister by osmosis. Margaret Thatcher was too strong a leader to need one, though she had advisers she relied on.

This is potentially much more damaging for Starmer than for any of his predecessors. It is, almost as much if not more so, McSweeney’s government as it is Starmer’s, and Starmer himself is as much McSweeney’s creation as much as he is his own man. It may have been significant that in his resignation statement McSweeney wrote: “I have always believed there are moments when you must accept your responsibility and step aside for the bigger cause.”

The McSweeney project, born in opposition, was to reclaim the Labour party from the Corbynite left, and present it as a competent and moderate alternative to a chaotic and dysfunctional period of Conservative government. Starmer, effectively, was recruited for this job by McSweeney for that purpose. To that extent the 2024 general election revealed the project to have been completely successful. Hundreds of Labour MPs owed their election to McSweeney. But then, what next?

Starmer, as with Tony Blair and David Cameron, became prime minister without any experience of government. Unlike Blair or Cameron, however, he also had no serious experience of politics: hence his need for, and appointment of, McSweeney.

For Starmer, the prime minister is the monarch’s first minister, first lord of the treasury, head of government, minister for civil service; the country’s representative internationally. He has never fully appreciated that the prime minister is also a politician. If they are not, they will soon be found out.

Political skills are not sufficient, but they are necessary. Ted Heath did not have them either, but he at least knew about governing. Starmer was found out some time ago and now a concatenation of circumstance – Mandelson, Allan, Sarwar, the looming byelection in Gorton and Denton (a formally safe seat that Labour looks set to lose), the May elections in Scotland and Wales and in English councils – has provided the moment.

McSweeney’s departure has probably clarified Starmer’s fate – he has never been weaker. But there is still no obvious alternative. This may provide Starmer with the time during which he hopes personnel changes may help provide a reset.

If this is the end for Starmer, a serious and damaging pattern in British politics and public life will have been reinforced. Since David Cameron stepped down in 2016, no prime minister has lasted more than about three years. The impatience and intolerance of voters with the political classes has increased, and will only increase further.

Starmer’s was always a dual leadership, and then premiership, held with someone who effectively saved him the trouble of thinking. He is now on his own.