Dear Labour

If I could sit the Labour Party down and have a word in its ear, what would I say?

To the Members, I would say:

“When you voted for leader you were choosing the PLP’s boss. You may not want to hear this, but that imposed a responsibility on you. How many of you have had a manager that you knew could not possibly do the job? How did that feel? You may have thought your enthusiasm for Corbyn would set the country alight, but you could not possibly have thought that he was likely to be able to lead a PLP that plainly lacked respect for him. How could someone with no leadership experience and lacking the support of those he was supposed to lead possibly succeed? What did you think would happen? That you would stamp your feet and the PLP would jump into line? That they would then spend the next few years determinedly pretending that they think he is competent? That the electorate was dim enough to somehow fail to spot the problem?

You made a stupid decision. I get that no-one wants to be told they’ve done something stupid. I understand that it gets your back up, makes you angry and want to tell the PLP you’d like them all gone. Take a breath and ask yourself whether it’s worth destroying the party. When you look at the polling, do you still think that by 2020, the general electorate’s view of Corbyn will have been transformed? Is there really no-one else in the PLP that you would be prepared to see lead? Think about it. If Corbyn gave up tomorrow, would that be the end of the party? Could no-one fill the gap?”

To the PLP, I would say:

“I understand that Corbyn’s election and Milne’s ascendancy seems like a living nightmare to you. I get that you genuinely believe that he’ll cost the election and keep a weak, divided and increasingly right wing Tory party in power. But where is the sense in being at war with the membership? Do you think Corbyn standing down will cause the Corbynistas to tear up their cards and walk away? If you keep him off the ballot, do you think they will shrug and drift off? They’ll be there at Conference and they’ll be at CLP meetings. You will need to find a way to talk beyond the party you know to the party you now have. You will need to convince them that the party will go into the next election with a manifesto that will win over the electorate whilst reflecting the Membership’s values.”

To the Leader, I would say:

“If 80% of those you are supposed to lead in Parliament have no confidence in you, you are not their leader. Clinging to a title will not change that fact. You cannot order them to respect you. Trying to do that diminishes you as well as them. A cheering crowd full of friends is not a substitute for a proper working relationship with your Parliamentary colleagues. If you cannot fill your front bench you are not maintaining an effective political Labour Party in Parliament. That is not a “nice to have” on your job description. It’s a core responsibility. How do you see this ending? With those you are supposed to have been inspiring vanquished and replaced? A rump party with an obedient parliamentary membership? I cannot believe that that is where you hope your long career will lead.”

Solomon has given his judgment and the sword is raised over the party. It does not need to strike. If we let the party get cut in two then none of us should pretend we loved it or cared about what it could still achieve more than we loved and cared about ourselves.