Jeremy corbyn

As the Parliamentary Labour Party manages to -- uncharacteristically -- stay out of the headlines for in-fighting, over on the left of Labour trouble is brewing. A bout of civil war has broken out in Momentum, the grassroots group set up to support Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. The issue? A disagreement over just how democratic the organisation ought to be. The group's head Jon Lansman -- a former Bennite and the brains behind Momentum -- has been accused of behaving in an 'autocratic' manner after he gave his support to a plan to allow every Momentum member to vote on motions on the future of the party, rather than be decided through a delegate system as at present.

Today it became clear why Corbyn is a lousy politician. He’s too interesting. The variety of life is simply too fascinating for him to prosper on the public stage. In a word, he’s not dull enough to be a statesman. A key attribute of leadership is the readiness to bore oneself, and everyone else, by repeating the same phrase over and over again. Successful politicians are happy to recite their favourite soundbites day in day out knowing that only at the thousandth repetition will the vital syllables grind their way into the public consciousness. Mr Corbyn has a great soundbite -- shambolic Tory Brexit -- which he needs to reiterate all the time. His advisers have no doubt nagged him about this. He should say it when he wakes up and when he falls asleep.

A pattern is emerging in the Government’s statements on Brexit to the House of Commons. The initial statement, today by Theresa May on the European Council, says little. But then, in answer to questions, some information slips out. Today’s most interesting nugget was May’s response that staying in the customs union is not a yes or no question. This will add to the sense in Westminster that the Government is looking to stay in the customs union in certain sectors, for instance-car manufacturing, while leaving it in most areas. It is also worth noting when Gisela Stuart, the Labour co-chair of Vote Leave, asked about a 2020 deadline for being out of free movement and the like, the Prime Minister refused to endorse it.

There are some crushes that ought to be crushed. When I was about nine, I fancied our village vicar — he had a pleasant, boring face and would throw Mars bars into the congregation during sermons. Things came to a halt after I saw him by chance at a local swimming pool. Underneath his cassock was a lawn of hair so dark, you couldn’t see his skin. Even his arms were furred. I was, in the way of many nine-year-olds, ruthless in my judgement. I stopped fancying him at once and avoided him at church, calling him 'Gorilla Priest' in my head. Years on, I find myself contending with another embarrassing crush. I have a bit of a thing for Jeremy Corbyn — or 'Jessica Chastain' as I like to call him in company.

I never really agreed with the central-thesis of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — that ‘42’ is the answer to life, the universe and everything. I have no great animus against the number — it does its job, filling that yawning gap between 41 and 43. But I had never thought it actually-special until the beginning of this week. That’s when I read that the Conservative Party was 17 points ahead in the latest opinion polls, on 42 per cent. A remarkable figure. I suppose you can argue that it says more about the current state of the Labour party than it does about Theresa May’s stewardship of the country.

Emily Thornberry put in a memorable performance on Question Time last night. Unfortunately for the shadow foreign secretary, it was an appearance that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Thornberry was heckled after sucking up to Corbyn, and she managed to make the audience groan when she claimed what united Labour was ‘so much more than what divides us’ (Mr S suspects there are many Labour MPs who might disagree with that view). Thornberry also tried to claim Labour were more grown-up than the Tories, saying her party fought ‘in the press’ rather than ‘in closed rooms’. But she saved her biggest clanger for when she was talking about Brexit.

Corbs is back. And he’s getting his act together. He showed up at PMQs looking estate-agent smart. White shirt, natty blue suit, a red tie mounting, nearly, to its correct position at the throat. His second landslide victory has suffused him with calmness and authority. As he boasted to Mrs May, his position as leader was confirmed by 300,000 members of his party. ‘More than her,’ he needled. The Labour leader is changing his tactics. He’s ditched his habit of using PMQs to pass on gripes from a mysterious Customer Complaints Desk at Labour HQ. This politically suspicious and psychologically whiney ploy was never likely to prosper. It painted Corbyn in negative colours: as weak, gullible, short of ideas and happy to be led by his own followers.

Although Jeremy Corbyn's spokesman described tonight's meeting of the PLP as barely registering on the Richter scale in terms of hostility, it could hardly be described as an hour of sweetness and light. While the meeting appeared to get off to a good start with loud cheers that could be heard from the corridor, it later transpired that the applause was for Rosie Winterton -- the chief whip Corbyn sacked -- rather than the Labour leader himself. When Corbyn praised Winterton for her work in the role over the past six years, he was heckled by MPs who questioned why he had fired Winterton if he really thought so much of her. Corbyn didn't have much more luck taking questions from his MPs.