Socialists to the left, jokers to the right: the miserable state of British politics
Take a step back and consider the state of British politics.
The Labour party is now firmly, perhaps irredeemably, in the grip of the hard left – from top to toe. Its leadership would subsidise what it doesn't nationalise while its membership revels in a new factionalism that puts loyalty to the dear leader above all else. Above, even, the very real fears of a Jewish community appalled by the anti-semitism that has burst from the blogs and the fringes into the mainstream – encouraged or at least enabled by Jeremy Corbyn and his closest aides.
This heady cocktail of socialism and racism is pretty much level-pegging with the Tory party in opinion polls.
Conservatives might point at Labour MPs sitting opposite them in the Commons, taunting them over their current woes, but the next few weeks could rip the Tories apart and plunge the country into yet another political crisis. This is not hyperbole. As we all begin our working week, two serving government ministers have launched scathing attacks on Boris Johnson. What is most remarkable is that, until a few weeks ago, Johnson was their boss. Foreign office minister Alan Duncan vowed yesterday to “finish” Johnson's political career.
This is not normal. At least, it hasn't been since the darkest days of the Blair/Brown feud. Duncan and others had declared themselves outraged at Johnson's metaphorical reference to a suicide vest. If we assume our current crop of politicians are in fact capable of stomaching a metaphor it then becomes clear that the real source of their outrage is the prospect of Johnson becoming Prime Minister.
A sizeable number of Tory MPs are so horrified by this notion that they overreact to every colourful outburst the former Foreign Secretary makes. Which brings us to the next few weeks, and the build up to the Tory party conference. At this year's gathering of the party faithful, Team Boris intend to lay siege to May's territory – taunting her with rallies and, doubtless, more headline-grabbing language.
Corbyn's Labour party may be a frightening proposition to those of us who prefer market liberalism to the dead hand of the state, but they are preparing for government, as their upcoming conference will show. The Tories meanwhile are preparing for a bloodbath. One doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Brexit provides a soundtrack for this farce, and as we draw closer to the day when ‘self-governance’ is restored, we can but weep at the state of those who seek to govern us.