Generally, talk of a ‘split’ in the Labour Party focuses on the chasm between Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters and those ‘moderate’ MPs who want to leave. But there’s another, bigger split, which is between the Corbynites and a large chunk of MPs, including Deputy Leader Tom Watson, who disagree with the party’s leader but think Labour can change.
Watson did go through a phase of staying rather quiet in the months after the last general election, avoiding both party events and interviews where he might be forced to take a stand against the leadership. But he has recently become far more vocal, disagreeing with the Corbynites on a number of key issues, including when it comes to whether the party should support a second referendum (as Katy reports, Corbyn has moved in this direction, with caveats). It is therefore quite easy to read the NEC’s decision to have a second, female, deputy leader as an attempt to undermine Watson.
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