Settling scores in the Parliamentary Labour Party
There’s been a bit of talk about settling scores after the leadership election. From the coup plotters breaking away and going to court to take the brand and the assets with it, to removing the whip from the 171 MPs who triggered this latest leadership challenge.
Anything that occurs other than the uniting of the PLP behind the leadership and acting as a united team with a consistent message is going to further damage the electoral prospects going into 2020. Or if the rumour is true, the early election that some within the PLP want to trigger as soon as possible to unseat Jeremy Corbyn.
It’s hard to reason with the logic of some PLP that would prefer to side with the Tories and trigger the election to condemn the party to another 5 years worth of opposition. I’m not even going to try because if they put destroying the party and the hope of people who are relying on them to end the financial pressures this government has subjected them to above trying to get elected, there is no argument you can use to convince them to change course.
One suggestion raised is to withdraw the whip from the recalcitrant MPs. On the current figures, that would leave Labour in the precarious position of being ousted as the official opposition.
This is from the UK Parliament site:
| Party | Seats |
|---|---|
| Conservative | 330 |
| Labour | 230 |
| Scottish National Party | 54 |
| Democratic Unionist Party | 8 |
| Liberal Democrat | 8 |
| Independent | 4 |
| Sinn Fein | 4 |
| Plaid Cymru | 3 |
| Social Democratic & Labour Party | 3 |
| Ulster Unionist Party | 2 |
| Green Party | 1 |
| Speaker | 1 |
| UK Independence Party | 1 |
| Vacant | 1 |
| Total number of seats | 650 |
As you can see, Labour has 230 MPs (it also has 2 deputy speakers that aren’t included in that total) and the SNP have 54. Assuming that all 171 of the current disaffected MPs have the whip withdrawn (and are therefore considered Independents) that leaves Labour with 59 MPs. If more go in protest at the whip being withdrawn, then the gap between the SNP and Labour is narrowed further.
All it would take is the SNP to go into coalition with the Irish or Welsh parties and it’s possible for them to overtake Labour in numbers and become the official opposition.
More likely of course is if the whip is withdrawn and those 171 resign the party and join Labour Tomorrow (or whatever the current possible name is). Then they’d be the official opposition and can fight in the courts for the Labour name and assets. It would be a mess but considering everything that has happened since June 26th, it’s actually possible and credible. SDP version 2, here we come.
Let’s hope they manage to make a better job of it than their coup, it’s not looking likely though.
