Only a very foolish observer would underestimate the extent of the problems facing Britain.

The scourge of Channel migrants is as bad as ever. Our bloated benefits culture is getting worse.

Describing our health service – once the envy of the world – as a basket case would be a charitable assessment. Ask the average person what they most associate with the NHS, and you're likely to get one of two answers: waiting lists or doctors' strikes.

It was particularly fitting this week that Kemi Badenoch upbraided Wes Streeting about neglecting his duties as he plotted in the shadows. 

Now that the nakedly ambitious Streeting has resigned as Health Secretary, it emerges that he has sewn up a deal with Andy Burnham – equally eager to climb up the greasy pole – to drag the Labour leadership contest out until September.

Who exactly do these people think they are? And what has it got to do with Burnham in the first place, given that – as things stand – he isn't even eligible to join the leadership race? Is the entire country supposed to grind to a standstill while the preening King of the North tries to get himself a Westminster seat?

The only certainty is that this cynical manoeuvring will result in months of paralysis in the corridors of power.

Every bit as troubling is the fact that Labour's tin-eared pretenders clearly aren't getting the message delivered by voters in last week's local elections. They've convinced themselves that the British public wants increasingly Left-wing policies when, in fact, the exact opposite is the case.

Between them, Streeting and Burnham have pulled off a shameless stunt that condemns Britain to a summer of inertia, stagnation and utter frustration.

At the end of it all, we'll end up with an occupant of No. 10 who will be no better than Keir Starmer. And quite possibly someone who is far, far worse.

Kemi's unlikely fan

Even in these unpredictable times, no one could have expected a controversial rapper to sing the praises of Mrs Badenoch.

But Nicki Minaj posted footage of the Tory leader rounding on the Labour benches during the King's Speech debate in the Commons. The flamboyant star predicted that entertainment executives will 'portray her in film & TV one day… just like they did with Margaret Thatcher'.

It is hardly surprising that Mrs Badenoch is winning admirers from unlikely quarters. Not only is she a sharp debater who is on top of her brief, but she is also clearly in command of her parliamentary party.

Whoever ends up in charge of Labour might want to ask her for a few tips.

Staycation squeeze

Nothing better sums up the grasping nature of the Starmer administration than the so-called Overnight Visitor Levy.

To call it what it really is, this new 'tourist tax' will penalise anyone treating themselves to so much as a weekend away in a hotel or B&B. 

It comes at a time when domestic tourism is already under huge pressure amid rising business costs and reduced spending by holidaymakers.

But it is hardly by chance that this cynical charge also coincides with a likely surge in people avoiding foreign travel this summer due to the unstable geopolitical situation. True to form, Labour is determined to squeeze every last penny out of the hard-pressed taxpayers who keep this country ticking over.