Come together

Like David Wearing, the Guardian's Stephen Moss is of the opinion that the Labour party comprises "two increasingly antithetical halves – socialist and social democrat" and that "it’s no longer tenable to pretend this is useful creative tension". So, if Labour are doomed to electoral failure and probably a miserable demise, what could take their place as the party of the Left?

Moss has taken up the gauntlet and sought the advice of a number of people, including Caroline Lucas, David Owen and Owen Jones, in the course of coming up with an alternative in collaboration with a design company. The result, Platform, isn't a wholly new party so much as a vision of local and national alliances between left-leaning parties that have similar objectives and views.

The primary aim would be to oust the Tories, but how it would actually work in practice might need further thought. After all, if ideological differences can threaten to split a single party apart, you have to wonder whether sufficient common ground could be found between different parties even to establish a working relationship, certainly over the long term.

Nevertheless, the principle behind Moss' proposal - that the union of various factions will be essential if the Tories aren't to be in power for the next decade or more, with no one party able to do the job alone - seems beyond dispute.

(Thanks to Abbie for the link.)