Elections apart, Prime Ministers fall in stages; it’s very rarely a single moment.

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So when I say that the resignation of John Healey today as defence secretary is the end for Keir Starmer, and indeed for the chancellor Rachel Reeves, I mean it is part of what looks now like an inevitable collapse of authority.

This may end with Andy Burnham in number 10 and Wes Streeting in number 11, but there are many twists and turns on that journey and nobody can be sure what’s coming next.

But let’s start by laying out the big picture. This country is in grave danger from Russia. Starmer himself said we could be attacked within the next four years. He knows that, after the strategic defence review, it was vital to explain to the country, again and again, in starker terms,........

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