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Mark Drakeford announces he's stepping down as Welsh Labour leader
Mark Drakeford's resignation as First Minister in Wales prompted a gushing tribute from Keir Starmer, who hailed him as a "true titan of Welsh and Labour politics". But that does not mean he is sad to see him go, as his spokesman made clear to reporters.
The Labour leader must feel relieved Sir Keir once praised the Welsh Labour Government as a "blueprint for what Labour can do across the UK", but they seem to have since done everything possible to make him regret saying that.
Under Mr Drakeford's watch, Labour has left its critics spoiled for choice in ways to accuse them of managing Wales' decline.
Labour prides itself on being the party of the NHS, yet the number of people on waiting lists in Wales amounts to nearly a quarter of its entire population. They have 100 times as many people waiting for over two years to be treated in Wales than in England, despite having 53 million fewer people living there.
Despite Tony Blair's historic emphasis on "education, education, education", Labour has presided over the worst education system out of the UK with Wales trailing the rest of the country in the league tables for mathematics, numeracy and science.
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Labour's record on the economy in Wales is equally dire, with it seeing the UK's largest increase in employment since last year. At the same time, it continues to ban new road-building and oversee a rail system Labour ministers admit has been "pretty bleak for a while".
Instead of getting the basics right, Mr Drakeford and his colleagues have focused greater energy on taxing people in Wales to the hilt in order to pay for vanity projects.
Few people are safe from the squeeze. Council tax has more than trebled. Tourists face new levies in a system which surveys found could drive most holiday cottages out of business.
Meanwhile, drivers have been hit with now notorious 20 mph zones on roads that used to be 30 mph. Labour MPs admit they can be "frankly bonkers", while the Welsh Government estimates the project could cost the Welsh economy up to ￡4.5 billion.
Unsurprisingly, the people of Wales have fought back, with record numbers signing a petition. Nearly half a million people have done so, awkwardly more than the number who voted for Welsh Labour at the last election.
When Labour isn't busy taxing people in Wales, it is finding new things to ban.
For example, Mr Drakeford and his colleagues are clamping down on supermarkets selling meal deals despite warnings it will fail in its intended objective of curbing obesity by just "funnelling people into McDonalds". They have also proposed banning tea and coffee for under-16s.
Time after time, Welsh Labour have shown they can be safely relied upon to take the most Left-wing approach to the big issues facing the UK.
While the Tories fight to stop the boats, Labour in Wales has offered to give arrivals ￡1,600 every month as part of its Universal Basic Income pilot. Mr Drakeford stood his ground in the face of accusations that he was "lining the pockets of people smugglers" by paying illegal immigrants, calling such criticism "shameful".
Given all this, Sir Keir would be forgiven for longing to be rid of this constant political headache.
As a Welsh Labour source tells the Mail: "It seems pretty obvious that the party leadership sees Mark as toxic and has asked him to step aside in the event that the election comes earlier. They know his record will be used by the Tories to beat up Keir."
Mr Drakeford's record has resulted in his approval ratings plummeting and him languishing at 96 out of 100 in YouGov's league table of politicians,
Sir Keir has struggled to hide his frustration in recent months, declaring in October he "can't pretend" there were not any "challenges" in his relationship with colleagues in Cardiff.
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The Labour leader also refused to repeat his past insistence that Welsh Labour was a "blueprint" for his own premiership, merely saying there was a "lot of stuff going on" that he was proud of.
It is too late now for Sir Keir to distance himself as Labour is showing in Wales what the party can be like in power. His hopes of becoming Prime Minister could be scuppered if too many people think he will build on Mr Drakeford's high-tax, woke-rife nanny state.
Ultimately, Mr Drakeford had to go soon otherwise he would have been a posterchild for the Tories' election campaign. But that won't stop the Prime Minister from reminding voters regularly what the Starmer "blueprint" for power could entail.
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