Labour warnings

The performance of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn is so dismal that failure for the Opposition has become routine and unremarkable. Yet even by those unusual standards, warnings from Tom Watson about what amounts to a hostile hard-Left takeover of the party are striking. Here we have the deputy leader of the Labour Party saying, publicly and bluntly, that his party could be wholly captured by militant Left-wingers who have no connection with ordinary Labour voters, much less the country at large.

This parlous situation no doubt explains why some Conservatives are thinking about an early general election, to take advantage of Labour’s agonies. Arguably, the Prime Minister’s decision on that matter is irrelevant: Labour’s problems run so deep that the Tories will be the favourites to win comfortably whether the election is held this year or in 2020 as scheduled.

It is easy to say that the abject weakness of the official Opposition is a problem for British democracy, since it produces a lopsided political debate. And it is true that governments often do better when put under pressure; Theresa May’s team have recently shown signs of complacency leading to unforced errors, such as in the Budget.

But what is to be done, and by whom? The Conservatives cannot be expected to help Labour repair the grievous harm Mr Corbyn and his acolytes have done. The only people who can save Labour are its moderate members. The so-called Blairites have failed utterly so far to rebut Mr Corbyn’s socialist dogma. They are now approaching a moment of stark choice: fight much harder for Labour’s soul, or admit defeat and leave, perhaps to start again elsewhere.