Rejection of Theresa May’s Brexit deal was never in doubt. The question was always by how much. But the scale of last night’s defeat for the Prime Minister – losing by an unprecedented 230 votes – defied even the most pessimistic of expectations. With her proposal firmly spurned by parliament, Theresa May is now set to sail the country into uncharted waters.

This morning we were informed of the shocking news of the sudden death of comrade Alberto Arregui, a leading Spanish Marxist whom I first met during the underground struggle against the Spanish dictatorship in 1970s. He was then known by his party name, Manu, and many of us still used to call him by that name. Old habits die hard.