The short straw on yesterday’s ministerial media round was drawn by Steve Reed, the environment secretary, who was on the airwaves to warn that without new investment in infrastructure the country will in ten years run short of drinking water. Instead, Reed found himself up to his neck in the row raging between the US Republican Party and Labour.
The somewhat ridiculous spat is a reminder that if Donald Trump wins, he will, on a much more serious level, be a complete nightmare for European leaders, who will have to work out afresh how to handle him. He has long established positions — on trade policy and tariffs, on defence, on net zero — that will make life tougher for Europe’s incumbents. There is also