Inside Politics: Jeremy Corbyn’s suspension reignites Labour’s civil war

The Unite union boss thinks Keir Starmer’s decision means the party is ‘doomed to defeat’ at the next election, writes Adam Forrest

Labour has been found to have broken the law during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership (PA)

US researchers have warned that a huge asteroid dubbed the ‘God of Chaos’ could smash into Earth in precisely 48 years’ time. It is picking up just enough speed for an impact scenario to be “in play” for 2068. Which should give Boris Johnson’s government just enough time to fix the test and trace system. It might even give Labour enough time to stop arguing about antisemitism and try to win an election. Possibly. Possibly not. Unite and the socialist left are talking about “chaos” and splits after their great hero was suspended by Keir Starmer.

Inside the bubble

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock on what to look out for today:

Matt Hancock’s department will be making a frantic last push to reach the target of 500,000 daily Covid tests by the end of October. Boris Johnson was careful when announcing the goal to say that it related to testing capacity – and it looks likely the number could actually be reached. Elsewhere, the civil war between Labour’s leader and his predecessor is certain to rumble on after Jeremy Corbyn’s suspension.

Daily briefing

DOOMED! WE’RE ALL DOOMED! The reaction to Jeremy Corbyn’s suspension for his dismissive response to the antisemitism report has been entirely calm and reasonable. Only joking. Unite boss Len McCluskey said Keir Starmer’s decision would spark “chaos” and create such a big split that the party was now “doomed to defeat” at the next election. Momentum saw a terrible, dastardly conspiracy at work. “It is a massive attack on the left by the new leadership,” said the activist group. Corbyn, who said the scale of antisemitism had been “dramatically overstated” – later called his suspension “political”. Keir Starmer said “those who pretend [antisemitism] is exaggerated or factional are part of the problem”. If you think there was an inevitability about the publication of the EHRC report playing out this way, you’d be wrong. There was said to be “total shock” at Labour HQ at Corbyn’s disdainful statement. And Corbyn was visibly shaken when he heard the news of his suspension from a photographer.

END IN TIERS: Are we headed for another national lockdown? Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy chief medical officer, has told ministers the rise in hospital admissions now looks “very bleak”. Van-Tam also reportedly said he was beginning to change his mind on the effectiveness of the local, tiered approach to interventions. Priti Patel said the PM will “try everything” to avoid a “blanket national shutdown”. And yet, according to The Telegraph, No 10 is now considering exactly that on either side of Christmas – with only a brief holiday window so people can meet family. West Yorkshire move into tier 3 from Monday, while Yorkshire and the Humber, large parts of the Midlands, Luton and Oxford City go into tier 2 on Saturday. One government official told the FT “virtually everywhere” in England will be in tier 3 by December. Meanwhile, the NHS contact-tracing app’s risk threshold has been tweaked, so more people will be told to self-isolate.  

THE VIP AREA: Labour hasn’t been entirely distracted by the Corbyn-antisemitism saga. The party is demanding an investigation into leaked documents which appear to show that lucrative Covid contracts were awarded to “VIPs” by bypassing normal processes. The Good Law Project unearthed the documents allegedly exposing special procurement channels for “Cabinet Office contacts”. Rachel Reeves, Labour’s shadow Cabinet Office minister, said: “The deeper you delve into this Tory government’s Covid outsourcing, the more disturbing it gets.” Elsewhere, Foreign Office minister James Duddridge was forced to admit the government provided training and equipment to the notorious SARS police unit in Nigeria. In a letter sent to Labour MP Kate Osamor, Duddridge said a “deep dive” through the files showed British officials had indeed trained officers from the now-disbanded division – having initially denied any ties.

FAMOUS FARMERS’ FOOD FURY: The chlorinated chicken issue isn’t going away. A group of “celebrity” farmers have written to every MP – urging them to back the British food industry at next week’s crunch vote on post-Brexit imports and safety standards. The group, which includes Channel 4 TV presenter Jimmy Doherty, asked for tough restrictions on “low-quality” food imports. The government is also facing a revolt in the Tory shires on its planning system reforms. Communities secretary Robert Jenrick said the government “will listen” to concerns about the green belt and views on where new homes should be built – but there would be no backing down on its target to build 300,000 homes a year. Councils will have to come up with potentials sites after they are given an estimate of how many homes must build in their area. The National Trust’s Hilary McGrady insisted it “must not lead to concrete deserts devoid of green space”.

ON THE LEVEL: Nicola Sturgeon has revealed that no part of Scotland will be placed in the highest level – the close-to-full-lockdown option – as part of her new five-category system. Not yet, anyway. The first minister announced that the central belt and Dundee would be in level 3, while most of the rest of the country is level 2. Sturgeon has provided more guidance than Boris Johnson’s government on travel – explaining that Scots should not be travelling into or out of council areas where there are level 3 restrictions. Elsewhere, former Scottish Tory MP Ross Thomson is considering legal action after he was cleared of sexual misconduct allegations by the Commons standards watchdog. Paul Sweeney, a former Scottish Labour MP, had claimed the Tory “groped” him in a Westminster bar. SNP MP Joanna Cherry tweeted: “I’m no fan of Ross Thomson’s politics but it’s a disgrace that his career and life have been ruined by an unproven allegation.”

BIGLY AND BEST: Donald Trump has been playing up America’s latest big GDP figures, which show a 33.1 per cent increase in the three months to the end of September – the bounce-back period after the lockdown crash. Although expected, the Republican candidate is ecstatic about the number. “Biggest and best in the history of our country, and not even close. Next year will be fantastic!” Trump also said that America’s traditional allies in many ways treat “us worse than the enemy”, claiming that the Germans prefer former president Barack Obama (the Germans and everyone else, Donald). Joe Biden, meanwhile, is sticking to his attacks on the president’s coronavirus response. With both candidates in Florida, the Democrat called Trump’s rally on the other side of the state a “superspreader” event. Biden also called for a national mask-wearing mandate, saying it was “a patriotic duty, for God’s sake!”

On the record

“I was very disappointed in Jeremy Corbyn’s statement and appropriate action has been taken.”

Keir Starmer suspends his predecessor.

From the Twitterati

“Suspension is not enough. Jeremy Corbyn should now leave Parliament … Until Labour becomes thoroughly Blairite again, it will continue to lose, alas.”

Andrew Adonis wants Labour run in the image of the Great Blair…

“I oppose the decision to suspend Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour Party and will work for his reinstatement.”

...while Diane Abbott pledges to fight for the return of Saint Jez.

Essential reading

Tom Peck, The Independent: How could this have happened to Jeremy Corbyn, the least racist person ever?

Caroline Lucas, The Independent: Russia interfered with our democracy – why is the PM not interested?

Paul Mason, New Statesman: Even if Trump is defeated, the left must get ready to fight Trumpism

Derek Thompson, The Atlantic: Don’t sweat the polls – Joe Biden is going to win

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