Westminster was in a febrile mood last week after a frustrated man who failed to win his party leadership contest switched sides following the discovery of his treachery. “It’s the right thing for the country,” said Robert Jenrick pompously after being ejected by the Tories. Never mind that he is a repulsive character whose soul seems corroded by ambition, let alone that his justification for defection drips with hypocrisy, given his own dismal ministerial record. Nor indeed that he and his new boss were scathing about each other’s abilities in the past. All just banter, they said with smirks, typical rough and tumble of politics that should not be taken too seriously.

It was hard not to feel sick listening to these self-serving people so casually dismiss what they told the public, then watching other politicians and pundits pontificate with frothy excitement about the manoeuvrings. They shifted seamlessly to discussing the latest strife in Labour ranks. It was all about personalities and positioning, never policy. So the post-war world order gets ripped apart by a power-crazed egomaniac in the White House, our economy is still stagnant and many public services are in pitiful shape. But in Westminster, they were playing their tribal games, jostling for jobs – and then telling the electorate not to take their jousting at face value.

Out in the real world, an inquest was taking place into a terrible tragedy that serves as a damning indictment of our society. Martina Karos was a loving mother – but she........

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