Labour and Tories intensify civil wars ahead of decisive conference season

Sign up to LabourList’s morning email for everything Labour, every weekday morning.

Party infighting once again dominated the weekend’s news, and bitter rows look set to intensify further in the run-up to party conferences. Parliamentary activity is thin on the ground: without many notable legislative offerings in the chamber, both Labour and Tory MPs are apparently keen to dig in their heels before the expected September showdowns in Liverpool and Birmingham respectively.

The Conservatives are fighting over the Chequers deal, and members of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s European Research Group (ERG) are delighted to tell the media just how much they hate it. At the centre of it all is, as ever, Boris Johnson, who decided to brand Theresa May’s Brexit proposal a “suicide vest” while his divorce was already making the front pages of most papers. Johnson’s allies are accusing No10 of briefing against him, but the truth is that many Tory MPs are more than happy to express their less-than-approving views on the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip unprompted. The current situation according to the ERG’s Steve Baker is that the Tories will split if the Prime Minister sticks to her guns on Brexit – as many as 80 MPs would quit. And according to other Conservatives, a dozen MPs would quit if Johnson became leader.

But Labour won’t let those Tories have all the fun. The opposition party’s own civil war continued unabated and Chuka Umunna stoked the fire by infuriating Corbynites. First, the backbench MP advised Jeremy Corbyn to “call off the dogs”, which elicited a firm response from John McDonnell. “Our party members are not dogs,” the Shadow Chancellor said. Whether you think that’s an overly literal interpretation or not, it’s clear that talking about party members in such a disparaging way – as Joan Ryan did after losing a no confidence vote last week – is deeply unhelpful. (If the aim is to avoid airing dirty laundry and detracting from Tory woes, which seems isn’t the case.) Then the Corbynsceptic MP for Streatham told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge that Labour had become an institutionally racist organisation. Labour’s equalities spokesperson Dawn Butler tweeted in response: “UK Labour is NOT institutionally racist.”

This is set to be a remarkably compelling, if fatally wounding, party conference season.

Sienna @siennamarla

Sign up to LabourList’s morning email for everything Labour, every weekday morning.