Berger's 7

So farewell then Mike Sour Grapes...  I will miss Mike Grapes.  It’s always nice for a party to have people who really don’t fit in and Mr Grapes has been constantly critical of successive party leaderships for as long as I can remember – he is almost the Greek Chorus of the Labour party.  He, with the other veteran backbenchers in the gang of 7, has jumped before they are deselected by their constituency parties. 

Yes, they are now going to be Independent.  I can just see them saying they are going to “do politics differently” like Andrew Pelling – who proved that if you spend £20,000 you may just make back your deposit.  Or perhaps they will be as successful as the SDP which (according to Wikipedia) had (for the year ending 2008) 41 members.  In 2017, the party had a total income of £2,094.83, no principal authority councillors and two town councillors.  Today it has Patrick O'Flynn MEP who defected from UKIP.  Come back David Owen – all is forgiven.  Well, almost all … I loved the SDP / Liberal Alliance – a party with not one leader but two (both called David) …who could ask for more? 

It all goes to show the problem with Jeremy Corbyn’s plan to return power to the “grassroots” of the party… Once elected MPs can do what they like.  Therefore however many elections Labour party members have the power always really remains with the parliamentary party and ultimately parliament.  For while we can now recall MPs for a custodial prison sentence of a year or less, suspension from the House ordered by the Committee on Standards or a conviction for providing false or misleading expenses claims being a turncoat is unfortunately not a criminal offence.