I could never vote for Jeremy Corbyn. I would prefer Ken Clarke or Harriet Harman as Caretaker Prime Minister. But at the end of the day, Corbyn does not have the Parliamentary numbers to implement any Labour policies if appointed as a Caretaker Prime Minister. He could only do as the alliance of Opposition parties and Independents instruct – extend Article 50, call an election. I would expect an interim Cabinet to consist of representatives of all the Opposition forces and for no tails to be wagging any dogs.
I can, therefore, see exactly where Nicola Sturgeon is coming from when she now sounds willing to accept Corbyn as the caretaker. It doesn’t make a jot of difference who the person occupying the PM’s office is as long as they deliver on the will of Parliament and then submit themselves to the will of the electorate via an election. Corbyn, like or loathe him, is the legitimate leader of the second largest party in the Commons and, by virtue of being Leader of the Opposition, the only real choice as an alternative to Johnson via the FTPA route.
I wish, therefore, that our party would now follow Sturgeon’s lead. Nominally at least we will still need to fill all the Cabinet posts and our leader, Jo Swinson, is entitled to a senior post. Home Secretary perhaps. I don’t think now is the time to throw tantrums about the Labour Leader. What do we really want right this instant? What do the TIGs and Independents or whatever they call themselves today really want this instant? What do the Independent Tories and the Nationalists really want this instant? It is all the same thing – extension of Article 50. What does it matter whether Corbyn is the vehicle for that? Or anyone in favour of a Deal and an extension? Or Larry the Cat for that matter.