Why, Labour are going “Back to the Future” — and it’s one that’s neither old nor new.“Bread and circuses.” A well-worn and overused phrase, I grant you, but one that has never been so apt, as to be used in the context of the Labour leadership “battle.”

Because while we masticate the pros and cons of the Coopers, Burnhams et al of the party, behind closed doors the ideological wheels are already spinning at 200tpm (triangulations per minute) and deciding the direction the party will now take — regardless, as always, of who the leader is.

Jon Cruddas is stepping down from his shadow cabinet role as policy co-ordinator to conduct a review the party’s defeat at the election and the future direction it will now take. The Independent reported he would be joined in this review by, among others, the Local Government Association and Compass think tank. Internal mutterings (not reported) cited that Lord Glasman would also be involved in this autopsy.