A generation ago, the two-party system made sense. Labour represented the working class and promoted public ownership of state infrastructure. Conservatives were sceptical of progressive politics and believed in free-market capitalism and private business. This produced a tension between collective aspirations and individual self-interest.

The collective approach saw resources allocated for the community good. Individual self-interest made personal wealth the priority. This tension was resolved through the political process.

However, deregulation and the privatisation of public services have undermined what taxes are spent on. Now it is private profit that drives everything. People resent paying for deteriorating services. They begin to look after themselves first and want lower taxes so they can buy the services they need. The poorest are priced out.

Today, our electoral system is chaotic and does not reflect what the country needs. Politics has been reduced to advertising campaigns selling political soap powder. I’m reminded of Groucho Mark’s challenge – ‘Here are my principles – if you don’t like them, well, I have others’.

Perhaps the local election results spell the end of the two-party system. Calls for proportional representation will grow.

Both the major parties were alliances that represented different interests and came together around agreed compromises. In the case of Labour, the main strands were right wing Labour that basically supported variations on the status quo. The Left wanted the state to play more of a role – and control crucial infrastructure like energy and water.

Starmer jettisoned the Left. It was like chopping a leg off. Inevitably Labour kept falling over. It had no idea where to go apart from posturing and promoting political careers. To those on the Left, this is sacrilege. Careerism in politics makes you a political tart. The cabinet is full of them.

Labour’s membership is now about the size of the Greens. At its peak in 2019 it was the biggest party in Europe with over half a million members. It is now less than 250,000. It became intensely factional. Starmer purged ‘the left’ deliberately using the scandalous allegation of ‘fake antisemitism’ against anybody who objected to the Gaza genocide – and this led directly to electoral obliteration. Many of its most active members left or were expelled. It lost not only campaigning muscle, but its inspirational soul.

When people become disillusioned with politics, they tend to focus on the thing that disgusts them most. In this election it wasn’t just the economy – it was Gaza. It is something that most people can’t support.

Starmer won’t listen. He and the British State – regardless of which political party governs - are up to their necks in collusion with Israel. Right now, in Cheltenham next to GCHQ a new high tech cybersecurity hub is being built. It’s major partner, Plexal, is heavy in Israeli technical and military expertise.

No Government with an ounce of self-belief in the so-called values that it promotes would contemplate this. But this is 21st century Britain. Money and high-tech warfare ‘trump’ piles of massacred children. We need a change.