The already tumultuous Labour Party leadership race has now been painted in even more bleak and rueful colours by Frankie Boyle.
The Scottish comic published a column on Facebook in which he bemoaned the party’s authority crisis, appearing to show sympathy for its embattled leader.
“The Parliamentary Labour Party is trying to replace Jeremy Corbyn after ten months, showing all the patience of Prince waiting for his paracetamol to kick in,” Boyle lamented.
“We’re told Corbyn is useless, then he manages to put together a more competent cabinet out of his billiards partner, an ex-girlfriend, mirrors and some masking tape than May did with the entire back catalogue of fee-paying education’s finest.”
Remarking upon accusations that there is a “culture of bullying” in the Labour Party under Corbyn, Boyle deflected: “It’s weird to see the media cast him as a bully, and it might just be a simple case of projection.”
Accusing Labour MPs of “selling a sort of nihilism” he concluded in doom-laded tones: “they’re going to go into a leadership election asking their members to, essentially, abandon hope.”
Leadership hopeful Owen Smith and former candidate Angela “voice of a Collie locked in a hot car” Eagle are both on the receiving end of Boyle’s wrath for not being radical enough.
Smith, Boyle muses “looks like his most radical policy will be not wearing a tie to the park.”
He presses: “There are a lot of people in Britain who need radical ideas, because the status quo for them is simply not survivable.”
Corbyn has insisted he “doesn’t do personal abuse” as he launched his bid to be re-elected Labour leader.
He lost the support of 171 of his MPs, who voted against him in a Motion of No Confidence but the membership has swelled hugely under his leadership.
Corbyn now faces just one opponent in the form of former Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Smith.