They roared, they stamped and they cheered. On Monday, the parliamentary Labour party reacted as it should when its leader hit a spot of bother. It knew it could not sack him, so it backed him. The constitution did its job and parliament supported the elected government of the day.

The idea that what Britain most needs is a Downing Street conflict is madness. After a week of a truly almighty storm in a teacup, it was a relief that the Commons could recover and steady the ship of state. It should keep it that way into the immediate future.

The cliche of the week was that the country stared into the abyss and drew back. If that was true, then Keir Starmer deserves a gold medal for his performance on Monday night. While he quietened the party mob, cooler heads were also calming the cabinet. A better cliche is that a week is a long time in politics. The storm has subsided, leaving disappointed commentators muttering: “It’s still not if, but when.”

The reason for the prime minister’s troubles is by now well rehearsed. He appointed a man who he knew to have dodgy friends to the Washington embassy and had to get rid of him. This is only one among Labour’s many U-turns, which also........

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