People's futures at stake in these political games

England bowing out of Euro 2016 at second round stage kicked it all off, the nation's heroes losing out to the staff team of a second-rate supermarket.

At Wimbledon, the unflappable defending champion Novak Djokovic failed to make it into the second week.

And then there's Westminster.

Where to start?

The Prime Minister is stepping down. 

The heir apparent was seemingly betrayed by his closest ally (et tu, Gove?).

And on the opposite benches, the man supposedly in charge had 80 per cent of his MPs in open revolt. 

But all of that chaos seemed to fade into the distance with the series of events to mark 100 years on from the Battle of the Somme.

Thousands died as wave after wave of men were thrown into no man's land to charge against the shuddering machine gun fire.

There was only going to be one winner.

I doubt I was the only one to shed a little tear when seeing the commemorations at mass graves in northern France with the epitaph "Never has so much been given by the people of today for those of tomorrow".

And to think the only reason those men died a century ago was because of the whims of those in charge, locked up in their battle chateaux away from the front line.

There are similarities in terms of disconnect with what's going on in Westminster.

The reason we are in a bit of a political pickle is because the Prime Minster failed to read the mood of the country when it came to the UK's membership of the European Union.

The fallout has seen him lose his job while the runners and riders are all claiming they are the ones who can unite the country while embarking on the biggest period of reform the UK has gone through since 1945.

Theresa May is the front runner, as stern as a headmistress, formidable in the home office but seemingly pretty good in the kitchen too, if reports on the number of cook books she owns are to be trusted.

Mrs May will be run close by Andrea Leadsom, a prominent leave campaigner who only three years ago espoused the qualities of the European Union to all.

Of the other contenders, it appears to be too late for Liam Fox and too soon for Stephen Crabb.

And what about the man everyone loves to hate? 

No, not Boris, but the Gover, Michael Gove.

After winding up teachers, prison staff, the Prime Minister and Boris in recent years (plus his wife is a Daily Mail columnist), presumably he will receive no Christmas cards this year - yet still he seems the person most likely to defeat

Theresa May.

It will be a fight to the end, with lots of behind-closed-doors discussions and political manoeuvrings. And depending on who wins it, there could be a number of people who decide to turn their back on the Conservative party for good.

But will it split? Probably not, as those involved just love a) winning; and b) being in power.

The same cannot be said for the Labour party which has been in open revolt.

At the centre of the storm is leader Jeremy Corbyn, a man who he claims the members' support yet his own MPs do not.

A week on and the Labour leader is like a man still dancing at a house party when everyone else is dressed for work.

As much as he pretends that everyone else is moving on, reality will soon strike.

The irony is that we have a Conservative party that is looking to reform and a Labour party that fails to represent the working class.

This cannot go on. Which is why I believe at the end of all of this there will be a new political party of some form, one more closely aligned to the country of today.

It was supposed to be a week when we remembered all those people of today who gave so much for those of tomorrow.

In the last week, many in Westminster seem to be putting their tomorrows ahead of many of our todays.

I hope unlike the generals of the First World War they remember that behind all of these games, there are people's futures at state.

Farewell then Caroline Aherne, a woman who made the banalities of everyday life into a laugh out loud comedy.

The Royle Family was a personal favourite, having the ability to make people laugh and cry at the same time.

But it was Mrs Merton that truly grabbed the nation's heart, with her straight forward and straight faced quizzing of celebrities.

One wonders what line of questioning she would follow if given the chance to interview the potential Prime Ministers of tomorrow?