Closing Heathrow was the perfect crisis for ministers – a distraction and it wasn't their fault

For this statement, Heidi Alexander had no reason to hide. First thing was not to smile. Always tempting when you've dodged a bullet

- John Crace

Don't mention the cuts. Your life won't be worth living if you start talking about austerity. Anything but the A-word. Anything except tax breaks for tech oligarchs. These are tough days for the Labour party. All anyone outside government wants to talk about is Rachel Reeves's spring statement. What it means. How many promises broken. The cabinet aren't quite so keen. Their aim is to hunker down to try to ride out the storm. They can already smell the incoming disappointment.

So they are desperate for distractions. That was why Keir Starmer was out and about on Radio 5 Live first thing yesterday morning to talk about potholes. Not that there was anything wrong with wanting to fix potholes. Every motorist and cyclist wants that. It's just that when potholes are leading the government's news agenda you can sense the kiss of death.