British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer must be feeling that the walls of Number 10 Downing Street are closing in on him.
After the surge by the far right Reform party in last week's local elections in England there have been growing calls in Starmer's governing Labour Party for him to set a timetable for resignation.
At the time of writing there is no clear indication that Starmer will step down, but his position at the head of the UK's government is certainly weakened.
Starmer stepping down would be the latest in a recent political phenomenon of pop up prime ministers in a part of the world that prides itself on political stability.
That reputation for stability, and an oft self proclaimed British common sense, took a hard hit with Brexit.
The hits have continued over the last decade with Brexit looking ever more like a dumb and dumber move, one with ever expanding negative political and economic consequences.
The prospect of a Reform surge in a general election is now a distinct possibility given the evident mood in much of the English electorate.
Suffice it to say, a Reform government, with party leader Nigel Farage at the helm, would be one based on a reinforced version of Brexit - and with an added layer of social cruelty.
A potential consequence of this prospect, and as reported on Page one of this edition, is a resurgence of political nationalism in Scotland and Wales made evident in last week's voting.
A majority of voters in Scotland voted against Brexit back in 2016.
Welsh voters gave it a narrow majority but the years that followed the referendum have not been kind to a part of the United Kingdom that has long been tied to England's hip.
Keir Starmer delivered a speech Monday that was billed as a make or break moment for his prime ministership.
The speech may well have accomplished neither a clear make, nor a total break - hence the cloud of uncertainty hanging over London.
There is a sense that Starmer wants to say things with regard to Europe, but at this stage cannot utter them.
Those things could well go on the lines of admitting that, post-Brexit, the United Kingdom is, for all intents and purposes, economically broke and politically isolated.
Even the vaunted "special relationship" with the United States is in the toilet with President Trump throwing unprecedented and repeated insult across the Atlantic at the British Prime Minister.
In his speech Starmer talked about a desire to see the UK sit at the center of Europe.
He wants to see a situation in which young British people can move through Europe, somehow seamlessly and as in the days pre-Brexit.
He almost sounded like he would like to lead the UK back into the European Union fold.
He did not state this. Perhaps he should have.
