Why Britain’s Labour government enjoys hippy-punching

Hippy-punchingis a simple concept. To gain the trust of voters, leaders of centre-left parties must hunt down their most left-wing members and pummel them. Once an Americanism, it is associated in Britain with Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader who won power with his knuckles covered in leftie blood.Jeremy Corbyn, Labour’s most left-wing leader in a generation, was the first to be punched. Sir Keir removed the allotment-tending peacenik from the party. Hippy-friendly pledges were next. Free tuition fees for university students? Those layabouts? A Labour scheme to spend ? Not in this election campaign, Swampy!