Stephen Daisley

I don’t know where people get the idea the SNP is intolerant of criticism. Scotland’s most open-minded party has released a new video that appears to be an attack on one of its critics dressed up as a party political broadcast. The video depicts a group of thirtysomethings gathered for a house party. They are Scottish but improbably so, smiling excessively and expressing enthusiasm for life. A couple of latecomers are warned that ‘Davey’ is in the kitchen ‘bangin’ on about politics again’ and soon we are introduced to a cartoonish party bore. Stuffy, bespectacled Davey is the wrong side of 40 but sports a hipster-trad three-piece and Brooklyn-worthy beard in the hope of passing himself off as a millennial.

When is left-wing not left-wing enough? Veteran Labour organiser Ann Black is finding out the hard way. Yesterday morning, she was the respected chair of the disputes panel, the party’s internal disciplinary committee, and responsible for investigating anti-Semitism and other accusations against members. Now, she is the respected former chair, ousted in a Momentum-led coup as the far-left celebrates its majority on the National Executive Committee with a bit of muscle-flexing.  Black is not some Blairite ultra. She was elected on the leftist Grassroots Alliance slate. What changed? Well, some comrades have not been impressed by her handling of suspensions.

Why is Jeremy Corbyn silent on the protests in Iran? A cynic might say that the Labour leader could hardly be expected to bite the hand that fed him £20,000 for appearing on the state's propaganda channel. But Corbyn's motivations are not financial. He and those who share his worldview simply cannot stomach being on the same side as the United States, even if that means abandoning Iranians crying out for democracy, justice and human rights.  That may shock soft-left indulgers of Corbyn but it shouldn't. When the socialist journalist James Bloodworth contends that left-wing politics 'has become so solipsistic that much of the time it operates strictly negatively’ he could be providing a character assessment of Corbyn or a neat summary of his outlook.

Jeremy Corbyn's interview with Grazia (a 2017 sentence if ever there was one) was helpfully revealing. Not his assertion that ‘there will probably be another election in the next 12 months’ and that he ‘will probably win'. That just tells us that the man who supposedly never wanted the job really wants the job. His chat with the glossy magazine provides deeper insights into his character and his methods. Interviewer Anna Silverman writes: 'I want to know whether his jovial good nature is genuine or whether he’s mastered the true politician’s art of charming the crowds. I ask a couple of members of his team – which, interestingly, is mostly female – whether he is always so equable and friendly.

Jeremy Corbyn is going to be Prime Minister. There can no longer be any doubt. He has seen off Tony Blair; the Parliamentary Labour Party folded; and Theresa May just hopes no one notices her anymore. With Ed Sheeran’s endorsement, Corbyn’s transformation from Leninist crank to PM-in-waiting is complete. He has been sucked into the great banal morass of middle-class culture, embraced by the human form of Radio 2, accredited for the easy listeners and the Astra drivers and people who say ‘Pimms O’Clock’. Sheeran, the soundtrack to Wetherspoons, is the ultimate in early-onset centrist daddery, a millennial Phil Collins. He told the Sunday Times: 'I love Corbyn. I love everything Corbyn is about.

The thing to appreciate about the Conservative and Unionist Party is that the only principle it understands less than Conservatism is Unionism. The Tories have convinced themselves that these concepts mean their perfect opposite, so that Conservatism is a counsel of market dogmatism and social reaction; and Unionism is the English national interest with brief interludes from Glasgow and Belfast, like a constitutional Last Night of the Proms.  The Tories' Unionism has always been more honoured in the breach than the observance. If their handling of the Scottish referendum result was not confirmation enough, their pursuit of a hard Brexit has put it beyond all doubt.

It's remarkable how quickly tribalism can capture people. Three years ago, only a small number of politicians and commentators advocated leaving the European Union. Reform it, yes; complain about it, always. But actually quit? That was a Ukip cause. But now a lot of people, having drunk the Brexit brew, are quite heady. It's not just that they have been converted to the Brexit cause, it's that they can't see how anyone sensible could disagree with it - or them. They belong to a new tribe: the Brexiteers. And any problems in their project are immediately blamed on the others. Listen to the arguments now. The Brexiteers are not to blame for an EU divorce bill many times their estimates -- the Europeans are.

It’s quiet up in Scotland at the minute. We’ve not tried to secede in a few months, some MSPs are away pursuing reality TV careers, and Nicola Sturgeon is still deciding the best punishment for parents that smack their recalcitrant offspring. The downside is that when things are quiet, some geyser of nationalist lunacy inevitably explodes. Step forward, Eddi Reader — folk musician, celebrity separatist, and the first of what are bound to be countless victims of the burgeoning police state. She announced to her Twitter followers: ‘When I was stopped in Glasgow two days ago (MOT ran out) the sight of the policeman and the Union Jack on his jacket made me fear he was an anti-indy man and if he recognised me I didn’t feel okay about that.

Oh Jeremy Corbyn, your takeover of Labour is all but complete. Left-winger Richard Leonard has triumphed in the Scottish Labour leadership, defeating moderate rival Anas Sarwar. The Yorkshireman and former GMB official becomes the party’s sixth leader in ten years and takes over from Kezia Dugdale, who abruptly quit the post in August for the backbenches and Bush Tucker Trials. The outcome, announced at Glasgow’s Science Centre this morning, was hardly surprising. Sarwar’s campaign was arguably doomed from the start.

When Kezia Dugdale quit as Scottish Labour leader in August, she said it was time to 'pass on the baton' to someone else, handing power to her deputy, Alex Rowley. Today, Rowley has stepped aside, leaving a leaderless party following allegations – which he denies – that he was abusive to his former partner.  The Corbyn ally recused himself after he was accused of 'emotional blackmail and abuse’. The woman, who has not been named, alleges that Rowley was controlling and sent her insulting text messages after she broke off the relationship. One is alleged to have read: 'You are one horrible nasty piece of work and I am going to expose you’; another: 'You are the most rotten b*****d I have had the misfortune to become involved with.