Labour’s lost centrists weren’t just physically absent at the party’s conference: they were also absent from the debate. Perhaps those who had turned up from the ‘moderate’ wing of the party had expected frequent denunciations of ‘Blairites’ from the main stage, but it didn’t come. In fact, even in the fringes, the moderates came up far less as enemies than the unions and Momentum.
This is partly because the Labour Party now feels very comfortable in its Corbynite skin and is more interested in ensuring it can deselect those moderates in the most efficient way rather than attacking them. But the moderates themselves are also quiet because they are on what is probably best described as a psychological precipice.
I look at this precipice in the latest issue of ES Magazine, where I go behind the scenes of a possible new centrist party.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in