Much like Brighton’s weather, Labour’s conference started brightly but has now become a much more gloomy affair. As ‘scumgate’ rumbles on, cranks scrap in public while frontbenchers take subtle pot shots at one another. Still, despite all the bleakness and infighting, Mr S is delighted to bring news of one ray of light amid the darkness – the return of Seumas Milne.
Jeremy Corbyn’s former director of communications was spied by Steerpike’s man in the Grand, holding court in the bar of the Brighton conference hotel yesterday afternoon, sporting a fresh trim and his trademark black suit. Among those hosted by the former Corbyn spin doctor was union baron Len McCluskey, the recently departed General Secretary of Unite who believes Keir Starmer risks being ‘dumped into the dustbin of history’ if he continues to ‘marginalise’ the Labour left. It must no doubt be a more relaxing conference than the last Milne attended as Corbyn’s righthand man when allies tried to abolish Tom Watson’s post and the Supreme Court slapped down Boris Johnson’s prorogation.
What were the two men talking about over their pot of tea? Perhaps Milne’s long-awaited memoirs? The former Guardian columnist has spent much of the past year writing about his experiences at the Corbyn coalface alongside helping Jezza on his Peace and Justice Project. Len meanwhile launched his own book – Always Red – at conference on Saturday night, using the occasion to take (another) shot at Keir Starmer’s leadership.
Other possible topics for conversation could have been the irony of their setting. The Grand of course was blown up by the IRA back in 1984 – an event Corbyn marked by inviting two convicted IRA volunteers to the House of Commons two weeks later. Len is a man who knows a thing or two about decent hotels – his union spent £95 million on a Birmingham site which was initially supposed to cost £7 million.
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