Polls open in Peterborough as Tories consider risking everything for no deal

Two events with potential long-term ramifications took place in Westminster yesterday. The first was PMQs, which saw Rebecca Long-Bailey go head-to-head with David Lidington as Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May were attending the D-Day commemoration event in Portsmouth. Westminster chatter in the lead-up to the session focussed on why Labour’s business spokesperson was replacing Emily Thornberry, who usually stands in for the Labour leader, with most concluding that the leadership was punishing the Shadow Foreign Secretary for being critical of the party line on Brexit. Replying to that suggestion last night, John McDonnell told Robert Peston: “You’re becoming more a novel writer than a journalist!”

Although the Brexit issue undoubtedly played a key part in the decision to put Long-Bailey front and centre, it also seems perfectly reasonable to test/show off other frontbenchers. (More than one Labour source got in touch to point out that “we do have a deputy leader for these things”, which is true, though it was refreshing to see three woman behind the despatch box.) And President Trump’s visit offered Labour a good opportunity to attack the Tories on climate change denial. Long-Bailey did an excellent job of that, with energy and the ‘green industrial revolution’ policy being her specialty. Overall, she was clear, confident and did not sound overly-scripted. It seems so long ago now, but I remember when Angela Eagle’s sharp performances at the despatch box were brought up during her 2016 leadership challenge. It seems likely that Long Bailey’s impressive turn yesterday will come up when the next leadership contest is held.

The second important event in Westminster was the latest round of Tory leadership hustings organised by the One Nation group of ‘moderate’ Conservative MPs. To the fury of soft Brexiteers, contender Dominic Raab refused to rule out the possibility of proroguing (i.e. suspending) parliament in order to push through no deal. Knowing that the Commons will resist the hardest Brexit and Speaker Bercow plans to stay on and facilitate the will of MPs, there may be no other way to leave without a deal. But this dramatic course of action would – as Patrick Maguire writes – politicise the Queen, set a dangerous precedent, raise questions of democratic legitimacy and spark the early general election dreaded by Tories. The fact that the idea is being floated at all says a lot (of very bad things) about the state of the Conservative Party today.

There is a result tonight that could very well intensify the Tory battle to become the most Nigel Farage-esque candidate. I’m talking, of course, about Peterborough, where polls have opened and voters are choosing their next MP. The seat has been a Labour-Tory marginal for 100 years, yet the Tories are expecting a dire performance today and Labour isn’t overly optimistic either. What struck me most during my visit to the city last weekend was the number of Brexit Party campaigners. Nigel Farage’s party has set the broader political narrative, but he has also attracted supporters willing to travel and get active on the ground. Turnout will be crucial for Labour.

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