In the 1970s, when Tony Benn and his supporters were trying to take over the Labour party, there was also a Communist party, getting in the way of Mr Benn's advance. One Bennite gave his view on that. It is a pity that organisations cannot suffer a biological death. A few years later, as the Soviet Union collapsed, the CP proved him wrong. It did go under, disintegrating into groupuscules.

Today, although the Labour party is not in danger of biological death, it is having a nervous breakdown. This is an extraordinary phenomenon. Two years ago, Labour won a huge majority. It seemed that Keir Starmer was master of the political battlefield and would remain so for some considerable time. Two years later, he is struggling to survive as Leader.

How did this happen? There are three principal factors. First, even if Sir Keir won a great number of seats, he was buoyed by the British electoral system. He actually got fewer votes than Jeremy Corbyn did in 2019. It was a loveless landslide. Second, a massive Parliamentary majority creates an immediate problem. What is the ruling party going to do with all those MPs? Back in the 1983 Election campaign, when it looked as if Mrs Thatcher would win a huge majority - which she did - Francis Pym, the then Foreign Secretary, seriously annoyed her by pooh-poohing the notion of a big majority and said that sixty would be quite enough. Margaret Thatcher believed that nothing would be quite enough. After the Election, she sacked Francis.

Yet he had a point. If a Government has too many backbenchers, a lot of them will realise that they have no hope of a ministerial appointment. That does not help to recruit loyalty. Moreover, many of these MPs will be in marginal seats. When things go badly for Government, they will be ready to turn on the party leadership which is imperiling their seats.

All that applies to Sir Stumbler, with an even graver threat to his position. He has a basic problem. He does not know what he believes.

This is not a new difficulty. For three-quarters of a Century, the Labour party has been unable to make up its mind. Is it a socialist party, intent on destroying the free market and free enterprise? Or is it a social democratic party, as on the continent, which seeks to tax the capitalists in order to fund social projects, but which will still allow them to make money? It is a clear choice, which Sir Stumbler fudged.

Back in 2024, the UK was in trouble. Growth was too low. Taxes were too high. Public spending was also out of control, especially on welfare. As a result, the National Debt burden was growing.

So Sir Keir had a choice. He could declare that the country's finances were in a mess, because of Tory mismanagement. It was all Liz Truss's fault.

As a result, any desirable projects would have to be postponed. Growth would have to take priority. But as we recovered, social horizons would widen. That might have worked. Or, God help us, he could use the free market's weakness as an excuse to move towards 'socialism.'

Either; or - Sir Stumbler did neither. In Opposition, Rachel Reeves had talked about growth, in an attempt to reassure the City. In office, it immediately became clear that she had no idea how to bring growth about. She made a feeble attempt to blame the Tories: her £22 billion black hole. It quickly became clear that there was indeed a black hole, in her CV. If she had set out to promote unemployment, discourage investors and demoralise entrepreneurs she could hardly have done better. She will go down as just about the worst Chancellor in history.

To be fair to her, she probably did not know what she was doing. Ed Miliband has no such excuse. He is determined to ensure that Britain will have one of the highest energy prices in the developed world. The consequences for growth are self-evident. Mr Miliband comes from Marxist stock, reinforced by eco-mania. In this benighted administration, he is the greatest enemy of growth.

So what happens next? Can Andy Burnham win his seat? Will he and Wes Streeting stop dithering about their policy on Europe? Will Sir Keir stumble on?

It is impossible to tell. When I last opined about Labour's degringolade, I began: 'Confusion worse confounded.' It still is - and likely to remain that way for some time to come. In the meantime, our so-called Government is now an ill-run circus. The clowns are in charge. At various stages over the years, the Belgians and the Italians have managed to do without a Government. For now, it may be that our best hope is to copy their example.