Labour party

After Corbynite group Momentum allowed leaflets from other parties campaigning for the deselection of Labour MPs to be distributed at one of its events last week, those opposed to the new organisation are starting to hit back. Labour First, which represents the Old Right of the Labour party, is encouraging constituency Labour parties to vote on a motion calling for ‘tolerance and solidarity in the Labour Party’. This motion has been written by members of the Hampstead and Kilburn CLP, who have tabled it for their next meeting in the New Year. That motion condemns bullying of MPs over the Syria vote, and calls upon the party’s National Executive Committee

Whichever way you look at it, the Oldham West and Royton by-election result is a boost to Jeremy Corbyn. His opponents in the party might not quite have gone so far as to hope the seat would be lost to Ukip (though those around the leader think that some MPs would have found a loss less devastating than they probably should), but they certainly thought that Corbyn would play very badly indeed on the doorstep. Indeed, all the reports from those on the ground in the constituency and later from MPs returning from the campaign trail were that the white working class vote was not warming to Corbyn at all.

The House of Commons has voted to carry out airstrikes in Syria this evening by a majority of 174, but today’s debate has been overshadowed by an incredible speech from Hilary Benn. In this View from 22 podcast special, Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth, Isabel Hardman and I discuss the implications of the Commons vote and what the shadow foreign secretary’s address means for the Labour party. Has Benn challenged Corbyn’s authority with his barnstorming speech that has won praise from all parties? How long will the glow last? Did Benn inspire the large number of Labour rebels? You can subscribe to the View from 22 through iTunes and have it delivered to your computer every week,

Jeremy Corbyn is a rarity among politicians. All his enemies are on his own side. For the Tories, Ukip and the SNP, Corbyn is a dream made real. They could not love him more. As the riotous scenes at the shadow cabinet and parliamentary Labour party meetings this week showed, his colleagues see Corbyn and John McDonnell as modern Leninists who are mobilising their cadres to purge all dissidents from the party. Conversations with Corbyn’s aides show a gentler side to the new regime, however. They suggest the Corbynistas are unlikely to be able to control Labour MPs when they can barely control themselves. ‘Chaos’ was the word that came