Every 5 minutes, the cry went up from one group or other: "Foul, ref!"... "come off it!"... "How is that not a foul?".... "Are you blind?"

Despite all the outrage, these furious debates rested on a shared, unspoken understanding of the rules, & the limits of "fair play". 2/10

Recently, VAR has highlighted the ambiguity of all these rules that we assumed were clear, granite-like commandments: how do you judge a dangerous tackle? Or if a player played the ball, or dived, or strayed offside? 3/10

But in politics, we still believe in the rules. We say: "Williamson has to go", as surely as if he had just elbowed an opponent in front of the referee, or hacked him down when through on goal. 4/10

What are these mysterious rules? They are, in reality, unwritten, what used to be called a "gentleman's agreement". A minister who has been exposed engaging in corrupt activity, or deceit, or gross incompetence, takes responsibility, and resigns. 5/10

If, like me, you have followed politics since the 1990s, then the pattern is familiar: the failure/deceit is exposed, the minister bravely pleads ignorance or innocence, but the pressure builds and their position is held to be "untenable". 6/10

Perhaps the PM expresses "confidence" in the minister- a sure sign of danger.

Either way, the coverage is shot through with certainty that the minister has violated the rules. "Come off it, ref, foul!"

7/10

But Williamson & Jenrick have exposed the reality.

There never was a ref in charge.

A gov't with a committed fan base & no scruples, does not need to concern itself with "fair play" or tradition. They can play on regardless of the howls of protest from the other side. 8/10

This "gentlemanly" game was always an illusion, but there was just enough lip service paid to the rules to keep everyone believing in them. You can still find "ministerial responsibility" in the A-level politics syllabus. Just not in the actual government. 9/10

Plenty of centrist commentators still appeal to the rules: "come off it, ref!" they cry, "send him off!"

"Are you blind, ref?"

Ref?

They still don't seem to have realised that this team aren't interested in playing by the rules. They are playing to win. 10/10