The political spectrum is changing. Well, not changing, it can’t really change, just the whereabouts of the various party positions upon it. Labour shifted to the left. The process started with ‘Little Tosser’, who used the professional name of ‘Ed Milliband’. Who took Blair’s 40% to the left, and Brown’s 50%, and moved it to about 60% to the left. As he had to. Part of the deal he did with the trade unions when they sharpened the knife he used to stab his brother in the back to win the leadership. Then along comes Corbyn who says ‘fuck dat!’ and moves the party to about 95% to the left. Not quite 100% because at that point the spectrum becomes a loop and looks exactly the same as 100% to the right. Outward fascism, dictatorships, end of democracy. Call it ‘Hitler’s Germany’ or ‘Stalin’s Russia’, even ‘Putin’s Russia’, ‘Franco’s Spain’ or Mao’s China, its all the same. Failed models in which the people get totally shafted, regardless of the stated ideology behind that shafting.

The Tories have shifted to the right. Cameron was about 60% to the right (about the same as Blair, note), but May, much more the social reformer, took it originally back to about 55%, just slightly right of centre.

And then came Brexit.

Which has divided all parties, except the Lib Dems but only because they’re too small to ‘divide’; it’d be like splitting the atom. And the Tory divisions have resulted in a strong, hard right element, driven by the ERG (European Research Group), which is another name for those few UKIP people who haven’t yet been revealed to be neo-nazis but fucking hate foreigners of all sorts nonetheless. And hate Europe most of all. So some have nick-named the Tory party ‘blueKIP’. Which in my (facile and childish) mind, puts the Tories up to about 70% to the right. Too far for me.

11 MPs have left their parties this week. Probably because of these relative shifts in party positions more than even antisemitism or Brexit. Though all are pretty much a consequence of the polarising effect of Brexit.

Should these ‘traitors!’ stand in bye-elections? As they are no longer representative of the party they belonged to when voted? Great question. Strictly, the answer is ‘no’. Because the electorate voted for their specific name. And that’s what they got and still have. But really that’s never the case. If you ask people who they voted for in a general election they don’t say Luciana Berger or Mike Freer or Chukka Umana, they say ‘I voted for Corbyn’ or ‘I voted for May’. We elect individuals but we’re voting in a government and a prime minister. In which case they should stand for re-elections to see whether the people they represent want them or the party they just left.

The main case against bye-elections though is that they are what Corbyn wants. And therefore any right-minded, free-thinking, non-racist person should want the opposite.

And I really like the idea of new, modern, properly centrist party run by decent individuals. And if they’re all remainers? So be it.

Happy sunny Sunday

A xxxx