It is precisely what the country doesn’t need at the moment – and for that matter, nor does the Government. A bruising battle over who will emerge as Labour’s new deputy is an absurdly self-indulgent waste of energy at this time. Once again, the Labour Party has risen to the challenge and proven its ability to be its most doughty opponent. With their popularity dropping as fast the nation’s GDP, just as Labour should be rolling up its sleeves to sort out the myriad of issues which currently confronts it, instead they’re rolling up their sleeves for a damn good punch-up.
You don’t have to spend much time finding a Labour MP – many of whom are happy to also go on the record – who is openly critical of Sir Keir Starmer’s first 14 months in office. Riven with selfish fear they’ll lose their seat due to the poll ratings slump, they’re growing increasingly fractious with their calls for a change of direction. Therefore, the contest to replace disgraced Angela Rayner becomes the perfect way for them to send their PM a blunt message and simultaneously turn it into a vote of confidence in his leadership.
On Thursday evening a decidedly lacklustre field was whittled down to two candidates, Bridget Phillipson and Lucy Powell. All this nonsensical navel-gazing will without doubt be an unwelcome diversion for a Prime Minister struggling to assert his authority.
It will also derail their party conference which starts in Liverpool later this month. As the Government should be setting out how it will fix a grotesquely failing economy, create growth, get a grip on the small boats crossing crisis, close the migrant hotels, cut NHS waiting lists and tackle the ballooning cost of the welfare state, they will be locked into a ‘beauty contest’ to determine who will be Labour’s deputy leader and serve as “the beating heart” of the party.
With the current fissures running through the ranks, this almost certainly will ensure that while it is of undeniable significance, the Government’s position on Gaza and whether the cross of St. George is “a racist emblem” will get more prominence than how it might resuscitate a flat-lining economy.
The ultimate irony is the job actually wields precious little power and instead often morphs into a relationship with the party leader which is akin to a relationship breaking down and heading to the divorce court. Which is exactly what a perilous PM could do without right now.