Edward Putnam: Labour's spiralling fortunes lie in the hands of two factions, neither of whom govern for you

Edward Putnam: Labour's spiralling fortunes lie in the hands of two factions, neither of whom govern for you

Edward Putnam is Chair of Sevenoaks Young Conservatives. The purpose of political parties is to obtain, exercise, and maintain power – for the principal benefit of a support base. And the longer a party’s in power, the more it can do to increase the size of its coalition. I’m not talking about broadening its appeal to new voting blocs, although that’s no bad thing, but of using government policy to increase the share of the electorate that fits …