People’s lives are affected by what government decides, and our system is based on there being an effective opposition. The unexpected (and for some the unthinkable) happened on September 12, and perhaps it will again now. It is as if the party is on the brink of a lively but uncertain adventure, in which history offers little guidance as to what we can expect. All shades of opinion could readily be found. But some were still in the “give the guy a chance” camp, respecting Corbyn’s massive victory and trying to be positive.

Pessimists I spoke to felt that serious and possibly irreparable damage has already been done.

Corbyn’s more down-to-earth messages could, he felt, play well with people who had lost interest or faith in Westminster politics. But he looked forward to a more vigorous debate over policy and, I think, quite liked the idea of having somebody older at the head of the party as well. The most striking conversation I had yesterday was with a senior trade union figure, who admitted to having some doubts about the Corbyn leadership, but who nonetheless welcomed this new situation as a way of “giving the party a good shake”. Hence the speculative chat about how long this can go on, when a deadline for action might come, and what the party’s response (both in parliament and beyond) might be. This does not feel like a settled state of affairs. There is less point in shouting “Split!” if the leader’s response is: “Well, yes, and that’s fine.”īut you cannot have a free vote on everything, and you cannot have a leader who celebrates his powerlessness indefinitely. There is still some novelty in having an ungroomed leader accepting that many in his party disagree with him and that he is not going to try and impose his personal view. His performance – can you even use that word? – on the Marr show went down well. He is speaking over the heads of Westminster insiders to the general public. Jeremy Corbyn’s style and tone have, perhaps only temporarily and probably only partially, disarmed some critics. Some people’s heads are already hurting and this is before the serious drinking has even begun. Both party members and media are having to get used to language and terminology they have either never heard or, at least, not heard for a long time. For others it is a reminder of territory they thought they would not have to explore again. The result of the leadership contest has sunk in, just about.

It is a jittery and confusing moment for the party. A tour of bars and parties confirmed that the spectrum of opinion ran from near euphoric to bleak. The mood outside the Grand Hotel reminded me a bit of Freshers’ Week at university: there was nervousness, anticipation, some humour, some optimism, and some despair. But in a way they were blinking at the emerging reality around them too. Delegates to the Labour Party conference in Brighton were blinking in unseasonably hot late September sunshine yesterday afternoon.

Let the wild rumpus start