THE Labour Party is heading for complete implosion in the wake of last week’s shattering General Election defeat.

Instead of standing down immediately, Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell seem determined to hang onto the last vestiges of power by overseeing a “process of reflection within the party”. Shadow transport secretary and Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald has given a series of increasingly furious interviews in which he places most of the blame for the electoral disaster at the door of the media, rather than looking closer to home.

Today, as the recriminations became increasingly bitter, Emily Thornberry confirmed she had contacted her solicitors over remarks made by former MP Caroline Flint, after she accused the shadow foreign secretary of labelling Leave voters “stupid” following the European referendum result in 2016.

The fallout from the party’s worst general election performance since 1935 was always going to lead to difficult questions for all those involved, but it has become increasingly clear over the last four days, just how divided – and angry – Labour has become. And this is even before an official leadership contest has begun.

If Boris Johnson’s plans go to schedule, we will have left the EU and have started trade negotiations before the official opposition is even half way through electing a new leader.

The immense scale of the task facing that individual is plain – but it will take a collective effort to sort out the disparate mess that the party has become.