A year ago, many around Keir Starmer believed the Labour left had been sealed in a tomb. The suspension of Jeremy Corbyn, the disciplinary action against Labour MPs including Zarah Sultana and the push to the political centre were supposed to fracture the party’s leftwing.
But this week’s drama, which included the prime minister narrowly avoiding defeat on the welfare bill after 49 Labour MPs rebelled, the chancellor’s tears during prime minister’s questions and Sultana announcing she was quitting the party to join Corbyn’s Independent Alliance, has shown that the forces are very much alive.
