Time for Labour moderates to summon up the courage and quit a ruined party

After all that, after all the revelations, after the emergence of a tape of him ranting about Jews and plots, the Corbynite Pete Willsman has been re-elected to Labour’s ruling body the National Executive Committee. He is joined by a crew of other Corbynites. Willsman is so dreadful that even Owen Jones had distanced himself.

For any Labour moderate ‎who was heartened by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s magnificent speech at the weekend castigating the Labour leadership on anti-semitism, the news on the NEC (even if it was expected) must be deeply depressing.

The Marxist maniacs really do have the party in their grip. They control Labour. It is their party now and there are insufficient numbers of good, sensible Labour people to stop them directing the affairs of a once great institution that counterbalanced the Tories and represented the mainstream centre-left voter.

For too long, those senior, tortured Labour moderates have – understandably, knowing the logic of the two party system that requires them to stay inside Labour – discussed what to do in terms of whether or not a new grouping could win a general election. That is – the Willsman news suggests – not really the point. We’re well past that stage now. The dilemma is moral.

A breakaway, a True Labour grouping in parliament of say 30 MPs, could raise money and cause havoc for Corbyn at an election, depriving the party of seats Corbyn and McDonnell badly need in a close fight.

This is not remotely about Brexit either. It is bigger than even that. Once Brexit is concluded, the catastrophe of one of the two main parties falling into the hands of extremists, and the need to prevent it triumphing at an election, will over ride almost all else.

I’ve long said a moderate Labour breakaway cannot work because the new party would split the centre-left vote. The anti-semitism scandal shows that it is no longer the point. It has become morally essential to split the centre-left vote soon and prevent the Corbynites ever taking power. Do it. Do it for your country. Do it now, moderate MPs, before it is too late. Bugger up Corbynite Labour.