The economy grew by a pathetic 0.1% in the last three months of 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), with the overall picture for growth towards the end of the year “subdued”. And what of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s assessment of the crisis? There is “more to do”.

Labour promised that growing the economy was its number one priority after seizing power in 2024. Instead they have sucked the life out of it with Ms Reeves responsible for snatching £66 billion in taxes from two budgets to plug a fictitious black hole in the public finances and fleece those who work hard to pay for those who do not.

ONS figures showed there was no growth last quarter in the crucial services sector (hotels, restaurants, transport, communication, business services and finance) for the first time in two years. The construction sector suffered its worst quarterly performance in four years.

The negligible rise to national income was driven by an increase in manufacturing. Britain, like its road network, is beyond the state of repair under this Labour government out of ideas and out of time. To illustrate this point, stuttering Starmer declared Britain must move closer to the EU in a speech of such dreary irrelevance he attacked Reform UK, suggesting the country could find itself at war if Nigel Farage took power.

The man just doesn’t get it, does he? So hellbent is he in trying to override the wishes of 17.4 million people to cosy up to his protectionist pals in Brussels he’s fiddling while Rome burns. But on February 26 the manifestation of this malaise could hit him straight between the eyes when the voters of Gorton and Denton go to the polls.

With the PM clinging on to his job by his fingernails, Labour will haemorrhage votes to Greens to the left and Reform to the right in a result that could prove a fatal blow to him and this gormless government. Such is the fear – expectation in some parts – that it will lose the sixth safest Labour constituency in Britain, Starmer has oddly gone on the attack when everyone knows his default position is to roll over and surrender.

Reform leader Mr Farage, Sir Keir’s probable successor in Number 10, said: “In a desperate attempt to save his job, Keir Starmer is attacking Reform. This weak, unpatriotic prime minister caves in to China, gives away the Chagos Islands and refuses to properly fund our Armed Forces. He is on borrowed time.”

The consensus is that Gorton and Denton is impenetrable Labour territory but stuttering Starmer has led the country towards economic oblivion, scandal, and social unrest that its 13,413 majority could be overturned and then some.

All eyes are now on Reform whose academic turned activist candidate Matt Goodwin hopes to win a seat where 44 per cent of the population identifies as coming from an ethnic minority background. If he does, given the party’s anti-immigration stance, this will be​ a fatal blow to Starmer whose political judgement was summed up in his refusal to let Manchester mayor Andy Burnham contest the seat.

Everyone knows Britain is broken under Labour – and all damaged roads point to seismic change in the weeks and months ahead.