A s Labour faces down the worst local election results by any party this century, readers earlier this week turned to former Downing Street insiders Helen MacNamara and Cleo Watson for an inside look at the political pressures facing Keir Starmer , No 10 and the wider Westminster establishment. During our recent Ask Me Anything , the pair – hosts of The Independent ’s politics podcast In The Room – answered questions on everything from Starmer’s leadership and Labour’s communication struggles to the rise of Reform and the Greens, as well as the culture of No 10 itself. The discussion offered a revealing glimpse into how power operates at the top of government, with Helen explaining how civil servants react when they sense a prime minister is weakening, and Cleo describing the “fearful and dejected” atmosphere that can descend on Downing Street during political crises.…