Behind the rows about Labour and anti-Semitism and the Tories and Islamophobia lies a battle for control of the two parties. Ivor Gaber reports

Apart from the glorious weather (for most of the time at least) the summer has been dominated by two stories, namely Jeremy Corbyn and his past and Boris Johnson and his future.

So how do we make sense of the massive coverage of the rows about Jeremy Corbyn and anti-Semitism and Boris Johnson and Islamophobia have been getting?

Are these important stories or little more than “silly season” stories, political news items that get exaggerated prominence because little else is happening while MPs are away from Westminster on their summer break?

I think they are important stories because behind these two rows, scandals, call them what you will, lie major issues that say a great deal about the current and future state of our parties, their leaders. our politics and our country.

While it is undeniably the case that many Jews, and non-Jews, have felt justifiably outraged and, in some cases threatened, by the anti-Semitism of some Labour members, this issue is being used by some as a cloak for challenging Mr Corbyn’s leadership.

But having twice been elected as leader, with substantial majorities, it is unlikely that he can be defeated in a future leadership election, any time soon.

Nonetheless, many MPs and ordinary party members, even some who support his policies, do not believe that a Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn could ever win a general election.

Hence, the anti-Semitism issue is being used by some in an attempt to undermine him sufficiently to force him to stand down before the next election, though I have my doubts that they will succeed.

Conversely, on the Tory side it is clear that Boris Johnson is positioning himself to have a run at the party leadership and the row about Islamophobia does him no harm in terms of keeping him in the public eye (much-needed, he clearly thought, now that he’s no longer Foreign Secretary) and bolstering his vote among the more right-wing Conservative members.

Mr Johnson might see this as a crucial in his forthcoming leadership battle but on the down-side those opposed to him have used the row to state their unbridled opposition to a Johnson-led party and two prominent backbenchers have already said they would leave the party in the event of him winning the leadership.

But behind the struggle for leadership lies significant debates about the future of both Labour and the Conservatives.

For if Mr Corbyn survives the current tumult will there be MPs and members who decide to up-sticks and leave, perhaps to form a third party?

Even though the fate of third parties is, mainly because of our electoral system, pretty grim, what sort of Labour Party would they be leaving behind?

Clearly one even further to the left than is currently the case and that would be almost completely under the control of Mr Corbyn and his inner circle.

The same goes for the Conservatives, if Mr Johnson were to become its leader.

Most Tory MPs would fall into line, but a few would probably join the Labour dissidents in a new centrist party; leaving the Tories looking like a very right-wing party with few dissenting voices and the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg and his followers in the ascendancy.

In one way it could be said that out party system would be more in line with the political make-up of the country with distinctive parties of the left and right and a viable grouping in the centre.

But would this new political landscape really reflect the United Kingdom in 2018 given that after the EU referendum political tectonic plates shifted dramatically – indeed were shifting long before the poll, and are continuing to shift?

Left and right no longer appear to be the defining issue. The main cleavage appears to be between Remainers and Leavers, described by author David Goodhart as the battle between “anywheres” and “somewheres”.

“Anywheres”, and there are lots of them in and around Brighton, are mainly Remainers, not so much attached to a particular place but more to particular ideas and values; and although some might vote Conservative, in general they can be described as “liberal” (with a small “l”).

“Somewheres” and they too can be found in this area, are mainly Leavers, more attached to a particular place and although they might vote Labour, their general attitudes can be described as “conservative” (with a small “c”). It’s a huge divide and one which isn’t going away anytime soon and one not just confined to the UK.

I have been covering politics for more years than I care to remember but cannot recall a more fractious time. It might be exciting times for those of us writing about politics and maybe even for the sales of some national newspapers.

But for the good of the country? I’m not so sure.

Ivor Gaber is professor of political journalism at the University of Sussex and a former Westminster political correspondent