As new Conservative PM Theresa May takes office in the wake of an EU In/Out Referendum which claimed the scalp of her predecessor, the Labour Party is embarking on a second leadership election campaign within a year.
Ten months ago saw the election of left-winger Jeremy Corbyn, following a boost of new hard left-wing members, who were able to secure immediate voting rights for a small price of £3.
That said, Corbyn probably would have still beaten his leadership rivals in the first round anyway, had the new members not had their voting rights. It is just that we would have heard a lot less of Jeremy's big mandate, had the rules been different.
Since the moment Corbyn took over the reigns of the Labour Party, it seemed so obvious that there was a mismatch between the Parliamentary Labour Party and those who voted him in. And then, there's been the confusion over exactly where Corbyn stood on the EU.
When one part of the party is genuinely middle of the road, and the other part believes in stuff like printing money, it has become increasingly clear the two wings cannot function as a cohesive party.
SO THIS LEADERSHIP ELECTION BETWEEN CORBYN, ANGELA EAGLE, OWEN SMITH, AND ANYONE ELSE YET TO ENTER IS QUITE FRANKLY A WASTE OF TIME FOR EVERYONE!
The two camps should instead split into two separate parties. But more crucially, do it in a civilised way so that they could still from time to time form parliamentary alliances on matters they do agree with.
Both parties could in the short term agree not to field candidates against the other in some seats, at least whilst the UK still uses the outdated First Past The Post electoral system.
Should this leadership election go ahead as planned, the one certainty is that one camp will be left bitter. If Corbyn got re-elected as I expect, everything will be just back to square one. On the other hand, I have no doubt that the Corbynistas would be left seething if their man did get deposed.
Suggestions that splitting Labour would leave the Conservatives without any Opposition of note, is quite frankly an argument which belongs in a past two-party era, which had two main parties who regularly polled over 90% of the popular vote between them.
The election of Mrs May (or coronation) as Tory leader has not extinguished Tory European splits; it has merely contained them for now at least. The question on the June 23 ballot paper merely asked if Britons wished to remain in or leave the EU.
The Referendum result in favour of Brexit, does not provide a basis for what kind of relationship with the EU we should now seek. There will be sharp differences of opinion in Mrs May's Cabinet over which trading model is the right one to negotiate for. More generally, the ideological differences in the Tory Party go a little bit beyond the EU.
During the recent referendum campaign, former Tory PM Sir John Major challenged some pledges made on the NHS by some prominent Tory pro-Leave campaigners. Major suggested that the NHS would be as safe in their hands as a pet hamster next to a hungry snake!
The Conservative party (like Labour) is a broad coalition which has been welded together by First Past The Post. If you compare the Tories with Germany's CDU/Christian Democrat party, who operate in a proportional electoral system, the CDU are hardly the soulmates of the Thatcherite Tory right.
THE CONSERVATIVE AND UNIONIST PARTY MAY WELL BE NEARLY 200 YEARS OLD, BUT I DO HOPE THERE WILL BE A TORY SPLIT AT SOME POINT AS WELL.
And ultimately, a political realignment in tandem with a fairer voting system will ensure that not only will people be able to vote for something more specific in terms of beliefs, we will get a parliament and government that are more representative of the people.
Ten months ago saw the election of left-winger Jeremy Corbyn, following a boost of new hard left-wing members, who were able to secure immediate voting rights for a small price of £3.
That said, Corbyn probably would have still beaten his leadership rivals in the first round anyway, had the new members not had their voting rights. It is just that we would have heard a lot less of Jeremy's big mandate, had the rules been different.
Since the moment Corbyn took over the reigns of the Labour Party, it seemed so obvious that there was a mismatch between the Parliamentary Labour Party and those who voted him in. And then, there's been the confusion over exactly where Corbyn stood on the EU.
When one part of the party is genuinely middle of the road, and the other part believes in stuff like printing money, it has become increasingly clear the two wings cannot function as a cohesive party.
SO THIS LEADERSHIP ELECTION BETWEEN CORBYN, ANGELA EAGLE, OWEN SMITH, AND ANYONE ELSE YET TO ENTER IS QUITE FRANKLY A WASTE OF TIME FOR EVERYONE!
The two camps should instead split into two separate parties. But more crucially, do it in a civilised way so that they could still from time to time form parliamentary alliances on matters they do agree with.
Both parties could in the short term agree not to field candidates against the other in some seats, at least whilst the UK still uses the outdated First Past The Post electoral system.
Should this leadership election go ahead as planned, the one certainty is that one camp will be left bitter. If Corbyn got re-elected as I expect, everything will be just back to square one. On the other hand, I have no doubt that the Corbynistas would be left seething if their man did get deposed.
Suggestions that splitting Labour would leave the Conservatives without any Opposition of note, is quite frankly an argument which belongs in a past two-party era, which had two main parties who regularly polled over 90% of the popular vote between them.
The election of Mrs May (or coronation) as Tory leader has not extinguished Tory European splits; it has merely contained them for now at least. The question on the June 23 ballot paper merely asked if Britons wished to remain in or leave the EU.
The Referendum result in favour of Brexit, does not provide a basis for what kind of relationship with the EU we should now seek. There will be sharp differences of opinion in Mrs May's Cabinet over which trading model is the right one to negotiate for. More generally, the ideological differences in the Tory Party go a little bit beyond the EU.
During the recent referendum campaign, former Tory PM Sir John Major challenged some pledges made on the NHS by some prominent Tory pro-Leave campaigners. Major suggested that the NHS would be as safe in their hands as a pet hamster next to a hungry snake!
The Conservative party (like Labour) is a broad coalition which has been welded together by First Past The Post. If you compare the Tories with Germany's CDU/Christian Democrat party, who operate in a proportional electoral system, the CDU are hardly the soulmates of the Thatcherite Tory right.
THE CONSERVATIVE AND UNIONIST PARTY MAY WELL BE NEARLY 200 YEARS OLD, BUT I DO HOPE THERE WILL BE A TORY SPLIT AT SOME POINT AS WELL.
And ultimately, a political realignment in tandem with a fairer voting system will ensure that not only will people be able to vote for something more specific in terms of beliefs, we will get a parliament and government that are more representative of the people.
