MAY IS ALL SOUTH, NO TROUSERS

All my political life I’ve campaigned for the devolution of powers and resources from Westminster to our nations and regions. We did it in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London, all bitterly opposed by the Tories.

One year from Brexit, May went on tour promising to return huge powers to the four nations. And the nine English regions? Nothing. She also launched Transport for the North, without powers on decisions or resources, unlike Transport for London.

The North voted to take back control. Sadly they won’t get it… unless they move to London. Lords Chief Whip asking me to be dealt with. I don’t recall them condemning the Israeli actions.

In 2016, after the publication of the Chilcot Report into our Labour Government’s role in the Iraq war, I wrote that I’d come to agree with former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that, as the prime aim was regime change, the war was illegal.

I used the article as a platform to publicly apologise for my role in that decision to go to war and how I had to live with the guilt. Alastair Campbell didn’t like it. But the mistake of over-relying on intelligence evidence could even turn out to be true about Russia’s alleged involvement with the Salisbury attacks.

I hope this column has made you think, made you smile and occasionally made you angry.

I’ll miss our Sundays together. But I am honoured and privileged that I got to spend 274 of them with you.