The gruesome prospect of new centrist party
centrists is their lack of potential leaders. A modern “Gang of Four” might comprise of Nick Clegg, Sir John Major, Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson. For millions of voters, such an alliance of discredited establishment figures from the past would form a gruesome line-up.
Some of the centrist plotters recognise that the interventions over recent months from these spectres from the political catacombs may be hindering rather than helping their project. “The trouble with Tony is that he doesn’t seem to understand how toxic he is,” said the source involved in the cross-party talks.
AS today’s Unite for Europe demonstration suggests, they also appear to be seeking to rally around a hopeless cause. The SDP were united around their opposition to Labour’s 1980s commitment to unilateral nuclear disarmament, a policy unpopular with the electorate. Today’s centrists are unified by their opposition to a clean break with the EU at a time when polls suggest that the overwhelming majority of voters – including millions who backed Remain – want the Prime Minister to get on with the job of delivering on the referendum verdict.
The paradox for those wanting a historic realignment on the centreLeft is that they have little prospect of achieving their dream as long as Brexit is the major dividing line in British politics.
To their fury, they may have to wait until the country is out of the EU until they can rebuild. As for Brexiteers, the current round of centrist plotting does not look like giving them anything to worry about any time soon.