PM Starmer must get serious about Europe

So, the long Tory civil war over Brexit has finally ended, with a gaggle of Brexiteers left stumbling around in the ruins of the Conservative party. Ian Duncan Smith, for example, was saved by a split in the Labour vote. Bernard Jenkin, Mark Francois, John Wittingdale, all survived. But on the bright side Michael Fabricant, Jonathan Gullis, and Therese Coffey all lost.

Jacob Rees Mogg, once minister for Brexit Opportunities, was defenestrated. This was the man who, having failed to find any Brexit opportunities, then complained that the government was failing to exploit them. Whatever dim glow of reality that once existed in his mind was extinguished long ago.

Liz Truss provided another memorable moment. She actually supported Remain, but was so ambitious that she rose to the top after the referendum by becoming a Brexit ultra. But the great bonus of her defeat is that she no longer has a platform from which to spout her rancid right wing conspiracy theories.

And we must raise a glass to the good people of Bedfordshire. They dumped not just Grant Shapps, the defence secretary who has overseen the near collapse of our defence capabilities, but also Steve Baker the self-styled “hard man of Brexit”. In an ironic twist, Baker was the Northern Ireland Secretary, which put him in charge of the only part of the UK to remain in the EU’s single market. It also meant he was in charge of that border down the Irish Sea.

Kemi Badenoch and Priti Patel survived – along with Jeremy Hunt they are some of the few remaining former cabinet ministers with name recognition, which means the battle to save the soul of the Tory party may already have been lost.

Only Hunt supported Remain at the time, although even he has recanted from that blasphemy.

With Reform having done so much damage to the Conservatives, the drift to the ultra-Brexity right is likely to become more pronounced. Who will try to prevent the Tories becoming ever more nasty, bitter and delusional now? Who will stand up to the racists, bigots and gammons? Who will tell them to get real about Europe and the Brexit mess?

Keir Starmer has already ruled out re-joining the EU or the Single Market in his lifetime. That was a strategic mistake of real consequence. The Brexiteers will endlessly witter on about betrayal as Labour try to improve our relationship with the rest of Europe.

If we do stay distanced from Europe, it will make Labour’s job of kick starting the British economy all the more difficult. The Brexit poison continues its slow progress through our body politic. Any joy we may get from seeing some of its architects thrown out of parliament is no cure for that at all.