Will Labour ditch Magic Grandad before the General Election?

As far as Brexit goes, Labour’s Magic Grandad is one of the party’s few MPs actually standing for both working-class principles and the Party’s 2017 manifesto. His commitment to leaving the EU echoes the real (though often misdirected) passion for democracy expressed by the late Tony Benn. As MEPs vote today on Von Der Layen’s appointment fools will call the process democratic. In the video below Benn makes the point that MEPs are not elected in the UK – parties are. Voters have no say on the members returned to Brussels by the parties, and can’t vote to get rid of individual MEPs.

Benn’s and Magic Grandad’s views on the EU – that is it wholly detrimental to the interests of the working class in Britain – are not shared by the new breed of establishment ‘progressives’ who have adopted the Labour Party for convenience. For most of them it could have been the LibDems or parts of the Conservative Party – the present Parliamentary parties are currently largely homogeneous, Blairite and managerialist in character, opposed to Brexit and determined to frustrate the nation’s democratic instruction.

However, these Blairite managerialists are determined to take over the Labour Party, defenestrate Magic Grandad and campaign wholeheartedly on a ‘Remain’ ticket in the forthcoming General Election. Lady Nugee, with all the bearing and presence of a large garden party marquee (200 seated or 400 standing) said so.

Short of Labour splitting into two parties – a northern, industrial Free Labour Party supporting Brexit and a southern metropolitan Labour House (members only) supporting remain – the managerialists will have to ditch Magic Grandad. And that may prove extraordinarily difficult in the time available. So I guess what we’ll end up with is an official Labour front bench that is both on the record as Leave and Remain, depending who is being interviewed. Confused voters will simply desert Labour.

That of course is exacly in favour of the true heirs to Benn’s Euroscepticism – The Brexit Party.