John Healey taking out his service revolver to apply the coup de grace to Keir Starmer has been followed by immediate manoeuvres by the militarists to box in his successor.

• Rachel Reeves, evidently on borrowed time, announces that increased war spending will be set before Andy Burnham takes over.
• Wes Streeting, one of the three possibly Chancellors to replace her, signals his support;
• while Al Carns lurks in the shrubbery hinting at a leadership run if there’s any hint that there are better uses for our resources.

This matters because if the commitment to meeting 5% of GDP on war spending is met, the financial commitment will be so huge (£70 billion extra per annum) that it will suck the life out of anything positive a Burnham government might do to improve people’s lives.

Without that, Labour will lose the next election; so, this pressure should be resisted and Burnham should stand up to Trump in the way that Pedro Sanchez has.

This is a letter to Labour List, which they may, or may not, publish. Facebook blocks my blogs, I guess because Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t like what I say. So, to bite back if you think its worth passing on, please do