Rarely a week passes without reports that Labour rebels are planning a split of some kind. The latest story, in the Daily Telegraph, suggested that rather than creating a new party (an option that has never been on the cards), MPs intend to form an alternative parliamentary grouping. This would involve electing their own leader and seeking designation as the official opposition.
The idea has been discussed in Labour circles ever since Joe Haines, Harold Wilson’s former press secretary, called in January in the New Statesman for the parliamentary party to unilaterally declare independence. But it is not a course that MPs intend to pursue, even if, as most expect, Jeremy Corbyn is re-elected.
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