Politically, there are those weeks when Westminster needs a monsoon to wash away the toxins hanging over the place and cleanse the atmosphere – this week is one of them.

This is agenda number 10 for this week Better define extremism, an unruly MP Lee Anderson, or a Conservative Party donor – the seemingly unrelated stories all have something in common – the tensions created by culture wars and protracted wars have combined to drive a growing trend in our politics. There is a toxic undercurrent. In the Middle East, although there are no polls yet, the campaign is already in full swing.

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This is actually not that surprising. I remember Sir Keir Starmer telling me in an interview earlier this year that he would fight Tory attacks with “fire with fire”, kicking off the long and painful campaign we are now experiencing.

For all the talk about finding consensus, especially in the fight against the threat of far-right and Islamic extremism, which is Israel and Hamas war, What our politicians are looking for is a dividing line.

In this week’s episode of Electoral Dysfunction, Ruth Davidson, Jesse Phillips, and I discuss these differences and find some common ground between us.

When it comes to the racism controversy over Tory donor Frank Hurst She reportedly said Diane Abbott ‘should be shot’ Ruth said that “frankly, Number 10’s failure to call these comments racist from the outset” made him “want to hate all black women”.

it takes a tweet Kemi Badnock calls on PM to follow suit – and suggested that Rishi Sunak “follows, not leads”.

Ms Phillips told me she believed Ms Abbott should have the party whip reinstated because both politicians were discussing the “hierarchy of racism”, with Ruth accusing the Tories of being more vocal about Hester than Lee Anderson. tough. Sadiq Khan is under Islamist control – The former Tory MP describes him as a “partner” to the London mayor: “[The Conservative Party] Still not saying it was racist,” Ruth said.

Which brings me to another ill-tempered event this week – a media conference commemorating Mr Anderson’s defection to the Reform Party.

Anderson used the platform to once again say he would not apologize for his comments, slamming his former party for stifling “free speech” and saying it was “disgusting” that he had been disciplined for “speaking my mind” Not happy” Richard Tice of the Reform Party welcomed Mr Anderson to his party with open arms.

this is a beautiful grumpy press conferenceMr Anderson clearly finds the questioning of his decisions by journalists and the disloyalty to the Conservative Party and leadership irritating.

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When I asked him what he would say to those who saw him as attention-seeking and disloyal, he dismissed me: “Country, constituency, party. Next question.”

Some people looking back at the press conference also believed that in addition to briefly answering me, Mr. Anderson also gave me the middle finger when I asked questions.

I’ll let you decide for yourself, but what we can probably agree on is that an undercurrent of fractious, bitterly confrontational politics and culture wars defined this defection.

Neither Ruth nor Jesse think jumping ship will save Mr Anderson’s seat, but Ruth talks about why she thinks Mr Sunak has given Mr Anderson a platform by making him party deputy chairman – and why the decision lacks political courage (Now fighting back).

As for the prime minister, the government’s decision to create a new official definition of extremism to ban those with “violent or intolerant” ideologies is a change that has united many across the political divide.

civil liberties groups Come out to warn against infringement of democratic protests; There are concerns on the right wing of the Conservative Party that this could restrict free speech, with three former Conservative home secretaries pointing out that “no party is exploiting this issue to seek short-term tactical advantage”.

Ultimately, suggestions that the government would use the extremist list to embarrass Labor by pointing out links between Labor figures and those on the government-identified list fell flat.

Well, a “culture war” isn’t being fomented this week – but the mood in Westminster is heavy, with the Prime Minister seemingly unable to take control of his party and continue to lead, and unwilling to hold an election and let the country decide .

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