Calvinball

I think this is a stupid way to choose a party leader, but the Calvinball aspect is hilarious.

■ Interim leader Harriet Harman blocked demands by at least three senior figures for an emergency shadow cabinet meeting, where it is understood there would have been calls for the contest to be stopped. She rejected the appeal by the shadow ministers, who had been alarmed by the rush of 160,000 people to sign up to vote on the last day of registration, in what one said was an example of “flashmob politics”.

■ The rules of the contest were quietly changed last week by Labour to ensure that MPs’ voting preferences will not be published after the new leader is announced, in a move some believe is designed to conceal Corbyn’s lack of support in the parliamentary party in the event of him winning. A party spokesman said the change had been made after officials were alerted to an outdated rule left over from the 2010 leadership election.