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What's going on in the Labour Party now is quite different from the Militant entryism of the 1980s.  Back then the local constituency parties were pretty moribund, described thus in a Militant internal document of the time: 'Many are shells dominated by politically dead old men and women,' so a comparative handful of Militant activists could easily infiltrate them and gain influence. What the party has now is a vastly increased membership, from a low of around 156,000 at the end of the Blair/Brown era to over half a million now - the highest it's ever been.  And far from being 'dead old men and women' the members now come from all ages and backgrounds and are far more active and involved in their local constituencies than ever before. The idea that, 40 years on, another handful of SWP and Trots is somehow infiltrating the party again to bring about a Corbyn victory against the wishes of the wider membership is more than farfetched.  I agree that if JC is re-elected by the membership, as is more than likely, the majority of Labour MPs will have a difficult decision to make.  They can remain in denial and continue their uncooperative, and some would say grossly unprofessional behaviour, or take a deep breath and fall in with the leader they've been given, whatever their personal opinions of him, and do battle with the Tories. Or they could step down and make way for others who find the circumstances more appealing.  Of course there are differences of opinion inside any parliamentary party.  The splits inside the post-referendum Tories are all too obvious, and Nick Clegg's new book describes the huge divisions and rivalries inside the Coalition government, but to give their MPs credit, they grit their teeth and button their lips in public and get on with the job they've been put there to do.

Peter Evans ● 3259d