In the first article I wrote for Iceni (in my first week in the job no less) back in January I talked about Corbyn 2.0, a new year and a new Labour. Now that party conference season has rolled around it seems like a good time to return to this topic.

After an uncertain start to the year, a shock election turned startlingly in Labour’s favour, with many traditional Conservative voters alienated by a cold, robotic May and nervous about associations with the DUP. Labour, as with any party after an unexpected result, were riding high on their success with a renewed energy. However, the rise of Momentum has isolated many of the centrist voters the party attracted in 97’, and produced a party unrecognisable from the last Labour Government.

Now, with party conference season in full swing, and the post-election honeymoon well and truly faded, the party is in a strange place. The word from the floor of conference is that supporters are more united than expected, especially on traditional Labour strongholds such as the NHS, social housing and welfare issues. Some of Corbyn’s key policies, like rail nationalisation and a ‘real’ living wage, are also bringing the party together. However, the elephant in the room looms large – Brexit.

The anti-Brexit campaigners outside the Brighton centre have been well documented, but more worrying for the party as a whole may be the internal dispute. The former Scottish Labour Leader, Kezia Dugdale, argued that Corbyn was partly to blame for Brexit, following a ‘lacklustre’ remain campaign. Many prominent MP’s are pushing the party to commit to staying in the single market, and others are looking to position themselves as pro-Brexit in the hope of becoming an electable party.

Amidst all this, Corbyn’s own position is anything but clear. We know that he does not want to reverse Brexit, and he would prefer an extended transitional period. But when it comes to the meat and bones, Corbyn is as bad as Maybot.

Maybe it’s savvy political posturing, keeping both factions of a loosely held together party on side. Maybe, he is just waiting to see what Brexit will bring. Or maybe he just doesn’t know yet. But whichever way you cut it, for a political party not to discuss the key political issue of the moment at conference is a tragedy.