The fallout from Brexit is tearing the English Labour Party apart with 9 members of the shadow cabinet resigning so far (and more expected). See also: Labour crisis: how the coup against Jeremy Corbyn gathered pace.
The Tories have nothing to smile about though. Cameron’s reign has ended in disaster. Deep divisions over Europe will continue to fracture the party. Many of them can’t stand the heir apparent:
The Anyone But Boris campaign is up and running
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Meanwhile, the Anyone But Boris squad in the Tory party is up and running and made up of a curious mixture of Cameroons, social Conservatives who disapprove of Boris’s romantic entanglements and dry Conservatives who don’t think the former mayor is an authentic Tory or suspect that he didn’t really back Brexit because he believed it but because it would boost his leadership chances.Already, anti-Boris WhatsApp groups are furiously buzzing away. The Cameroon ABB faction met on Friday morning shortly after the prime minister resigned and ran through a list of names of potential contenders. The group, which included Nick Boles, arch-Osborneite Matt Hancock and Thérèse Coffey, considered Nicky Morgan and Stephen Crabb before alighting on Theresa May as their preferred candidate.
May stayed studiously quiet for much of the campaign. She backed Remain, but in a more half-hearted way even than Jeremy Corbyn. She won’t be the only pro-Remain minister to have a go. Stephen Crabb is said to be weighing up his options. He has the support of the hugely popular Ruth Davidson, who seems keen to act as kingmaker in this campaign, but he – and Davidson – enthusiastically campaigned for staying in the EU. Similarly, pro-Remain Jeremy Hunt has a nascent leadership operation around him. …
Naturally The Sun takes it down market:
PROJECT SMEAR Boris Johnson hit by revenge plot as PM loyalists take aim at his turbulent private life
Allies of David Cameron coming at PM-in-waiting with simple message: You’ve killed off the PM, we’ll get you
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A burst of bitter recriminations broke out as 52-year-old Mr Johnson emerged as hot favourite to snatch the keys to No10. … But ruthless Cameron loyalists are determined to block him at all costs — and are compiling a dossier on his private life. They believe the best way to stop the mop-haired MP becoming Prime Minister is to fight dirty.An angry opponent admitted: “If you think the Referendum got a bit nasty, wait until the leadership campaign gets started. …
Beyond party politics the bigger picture isn’t so pretty either:
Brexit could lead to a larger crack-up of the United Kingdom
The UK’s departure from the European Union could trigger a series of unintended consequences across the UK itself, potentially setting the stage for Scotland’s secession from the country and a renewed round of clashes between nationalists and separatists in Northern Ireland. …
What’s that old quote about living in interesting times?
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