Never has the phrase ‘in office but not in power’ been more apt. Like some strange, malfunctioning automaton, Sir Keir Starmer continues to go through the motions of running the country even though his power source has been switched off.

His authority visibly draining away, the PM’s stock phrases sound ever more tragic. ‘Delivering on our promises… prepared to take the tough decisions... putting country before party… fixing the foundations.’

The truth is there’s a vacuum at the heart of this government, and everyone knows it. The public sees the country going backwards and doesn’t believe Sir Keir can turn it around. He promised change. What he has achieved – slowly, surely and now completely – is paralysis.

Just two years after the election landslide his party has lost all respect for him as a leader and is in open disobedience. He is a paper king on a cardboard throne.

This collapse of faith has been laid bare by the resignation of his defence secretary, John Healey, and armed forces minister, Al Carns, over the failure properly to fund our armed forces.

Military planners speak of a £28billion ‘black hole’ in their budgets, the PM was set to agree an £18billion increase, but Chancellor Rachel Reeves has now reportedly cut that to £13.5billion.

As Mr Healey said in his resignation letter, with Russia and China becoming ever more menacing and much of the Middle East in crisis, that is simply not enough to keep us safe.

A strong PM would have instructed his Chancellor to find the money or move over for someone who could. It’s not as if there aren’t blindingly obvious places to start.

This country spent £322billion on welfare last year, compared with £66billion on defence. That imbalance could surely be significantly reduced without harming those in genuine hardship.

Also, around £12billion a year is spent on the crazed rush to Net Zero. If Sir Keir sacked Ed Miliband and abolished a raft of green subsidies, the hole in the defence budget would be largely filled.

Instead, he sits on his hands and allows others to make his decisions for him.

But it was Mr Carns’ parting shot that really stung. Having shared Mr Healey’s dismay over inadequate defence spending, he went on to lament his government’s wider failings – on the economy, energy policy public services, community cohesion, and youth unemployment. It was a devastating critique.

So what next for this zombie government? We currently have the bizarre spectacle of Andy Burnham behaving as if he is about to pick up the Downing Street keys before he’s even back in Parliament.

And if he does win in Makerfield next week and succeeds in usurping the PM, would he be better for the country, or worse? Many think the latter.

He and the cabal of second-rate Lefties around him would almost certainly load more taxes on to beleaguered Middle England, fail to tackle welfare spending, borrow more and be utterly in hock to the unions.

So, there we have the dismal alternatives facing Britain: Stumble on with sleepwalking Starmer, or lurch to the Left with grandstandy Andy and his gimcrack army of the North.

Either way, defending our country will always come a distant second to paying the indolent not to work. That’s just the Labour way – whoever’s in charge.