Will Labour split?

westernpromise

The grassroots party is so divorced from the Parliamentary party that it seems inevitable this split must get formalised at some point, with a split. A catalyst for this seems likely to me to the May council elections, at which, based on current polling (Tories 45%, Labour 26%) Labour are likely to get completely diced.

So will they split?

vivatifosi

Listening to the woman on the radio this morning describing Tom Watson as right wing it's hard to imagine that they won't split.

TrickyTree83

I think they have to, just to survive. Divorce from momentum, change the membership back to how it was and go back to being centre-left. I've voted Labour in the past, there's absolutely no way I'll touch them with yours right now.

westernpromise

But the party split from would still be Labour and would presumably keep the incumbency advantages.

beecher2

These are the Scottish figures
SNP 46%, CON 19%, LAB 17%, GRN 8%, LD 6%

(which might be a surprise to some as Ruth Davidson is being portrayed as a possible future FM with a gap of 27 points)

Labour are finished up here so I don't think there are enough numbers to split. They've tried to rebrand themselves up here so many times!

sammyjammy

I hope they split, at this rate I'll be voting Conservative at the next election :eek:

wotsthat

It's probably the Blair years that were the aberration and now we're seeing Labour occupy a more traditional left wing position. Over time candidates selected will be more in line with the membership. They'll be even less electable but why should I care when New Labour's positioning has been swallowed up by the Tories and Lib Dems and I can vote for them instead?

It's really quite busy in the centre ground. Is anyone really interested in the invention of a new party to occupy pretty much the same space?

stator

When Corbyn finally realises he is unelectable they will try and get another left candidate elected and fail. A lot of momentum will leave and form another party which will fail. I wouldn't call it a split though because they will have no MPs.

[Deleted User]

If the tories make a dogs breakfast of brexit and the snp fail to win a referendum then British politics could look vastly different than it does today.

steampowered

I don't think so. Labour is relatively united in terms of policy - certainly much more than it was in the past.

I am sure some people will "split" off and support other parties. A bit like how UKIP is largely made up of former Tory supporters. But I can't see an SDP-style split happening.

michaels

Isn't there going to be a pro-eu party with right wing labour plus pre-european tories under Osborne led by Tony B Liar?