If we want a proper movement against Brexit, Labour needs to split

Labour needs to accept that its divisions are too deep to be reconciled and to amicably divorce, so a Momentum-inspired rump can do its thing while mainstream Remain-supporting Labour MPs can coalesce around something that appeals to Remainers and ‘Regrexiters’

Jeremy Corbyn appearing on the Andrew Marr Show on 15 January 2017 (BBC)

You may think what I’m about to suggest is crazy. But before you call me so, take a look at Theresa May’s speech, consider the hurricane of hard Brexit that Britain is sailing into, and digest the implications of that for the economy, the future prospects for our kids, and so on.

Now, in December, my colleague John Rentoul described the Conservative Party as the mainstream Brexit party, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour as the soft Brexit party, Ukip as the hard Brexit Party and the Liberal Democrats as the anti Brexit Party.

Looking at where we are now, the Conservative Party is morphing into the hard Brexit party, Jeremy “not wedded to freedom of movement” Corbyn is following it down that road, Ukip is costing a Trump-esque style wall along the white cliffs of Dover (well I wouldn't put it past them when they're not fighting with each other) and the Liberal Democrats remain the anti-Brexit party.

While there are those among the 48 per cent who have made their peace with Brexit, where does that leave those of us left aghast at these developments?

Yes there are those Liberal Democrats, and yes they scalped Zach Goldsmith (hooray!) but given their tiny representation at Westminster, it’s hard for them to get heard. They're not going to be able to rally anti-Brexiteers without help.

So here's my crazy idea for them getting that help: Labour needs to split.

With Jeremy Corbyn going nowhere, the strategy adopted by those not taking jobs flogging nuclear reprocessing for Sellafield or settling into a glam and doubtless well-remunerated position running the Victoria & Albert Museum appears to be to sit tight on their raft and drift in the current in the hope that something turns up.

There is arguably some merit to that, given the level of uncertainty we are currently living with. The trouble is that drift leaves you at risk of floating out to sea, and before you know it, you’re left electorally drowning.

Meanwhile, there is a sizeable body of voters who are being left unrepresented, horrified by what is happening to their country but left impotent, at least in places where the Lib Dems aren’t strong.

I’ve spoken to some among them who are so angry with the mess Labour has got itself into that they feel we’re basically screwed whatever happens and that Labour needs to be wiped out to allow a new progressive force to emerge from the wreckage.

A friend of mine, who is a longstanding supporter, and has worked within the union movement for many years, told me: “It's the only way forward. I’m furious with Labour, furious. Do they not realise that two thirds of Labour voters backed Remain?”

For my part, I’m not sure that the full destruction of Labour would be terribly helpful. It’s important for the sake of democracy that a government embarking on a deeply dangerous path has an effective opposition.

You just need to look at some of the measures that have been floated by our current Government to see that. A “global Britain” does not moot forcing companies to register overseas workers, or suggest charging companies £1,000 a pop for importing people with skills they can’t get here. It does not waltz around the world insulting foreign leaders or cripple its higher education sector by making life hard for foreign students, or use people as bargaining chips, or tacitly encourage xenophobia.

It speaks volumes that the CBI might serve as a better opponent to some of those policies than the official opposition. The CBI, for goodness’ sake.

That cannot be allowed to continue. To ensure that it does not, Labour needs to accept that its divisions are too deep to be reconciled and to amicably divorce, so a Momentum-inspired rump can do its thing while mainstream Remain-supporting Labour MPs can coalesce around something that appeals to large parts of the 48 per cent, as well as those “Regrexiters” who didn’t think they were voting for the vision Theresa May has laid out.

This new grouping – I’ve no idea what to call it – could then work with (but not actually merge with) the Liberal Democrats and perhaps the SNP to fight the crazy situation the Government is getting us into.

The last time such a realignment in British politics was tried, it didn’t work out too well. The SDP vented forth from a Labour that was leaning hard left, with lots of media support and goodwill, only to flop.

But things have changed. The two party system is collapsing anyway, and the fundamental schism in Britain is not so much about right and left as it is about in or out. The forces favouring Remain, and looking to build a truly global Britain in partnership with Europe, need to recognise that – and start advocating for it before disillusion and apathy leaves the field clear to the wreckers.

Remember this: even if Labour somehow revives itself and emerges from the “drift and hope” strategy with a fighting chance, perhaps as the economic cost of Brexit is belatedly realised, it would probably still need help to form a government

It would struggle to win England, and can't rely on Scotland to make up the numbers anymore. It simply isn't realistic to see Labour repeating anything like the electoral success enjoyed by (whisper it) Tony Blair. It would need allies to get back into government. Labour in its current form will struggle to find them.

So, given that, is it really so crazy to suggest starting again? Is it any crazier than the developments of the last year?

Of course, you can see what the problem with my suggestion is. To pull it off would take people with that word that politicians fear more than anything else: courage.