As the Labour leadership contest draws closer to the ballot, it's perhaps unsurprising that the debate between different factions of the party is becoming ever more tense online.
It's fair to say that Diane Abbott and Alastair Campbell have few things in common politically save their allegiance to the Labour party.
And now the pair have held a frank exchange of views on Twitter on Tuesday morning following Campbell's plea to party members to "vote anyone but Jeremy Corbyn," the current odds-on favourite to win the contest in September.
He wrote: "Whatever the niceness and the current warm glow, Corbyn will be a leader of the hard left, for the hard left, and espousing both general politics and specific positions that the public just are not going to accept in many of the seats that Labour is going to have to win to get back in power."
And when Abbott and others responded to the piece with a shrift reposte, Campbell hit back.
Alistair Campbell: "Anyone but Corbyn for leader" Words fail me. Who does Campbell think this is going to convince? http://t.co/KUwWLOO0o7
ADVERTISEMENT
— Diane Abbott (@HackneyAbbott) August 10, 2015@simon_brooke @HackneyAbbott it was to help turn a losing party into one that won and made change for the better. Hate to see it go backward
— Alastair Campbell (@campbellclaret) August 11, 2015@simon_brooke @HackneyAbbott I don't do God
— Alastair Campbell (@campbellclaret) August 11, 2015@simon_brooke @HackneyAbbott read the blog and tell me which of the things Alan Johnson listed a Tory govt would have done?
— Alastair Campbell (@campbellclaret) August 11, 2015Abbott then joined the debate.
@campbellclaret @simon_brooke New Labour positive achievements mostly things left/trade unions campaigned to make party policy for decades
— Diane Abbott (@HackneyAbbott) August 11, 2015@JoeDiego24 @campbellclaret @simon_brooke We succeeded in making party adopt policies which everybody is now proud of.
— Diane Abbott (@HackneyAbbott) August 11, 2015@HackneyAbbott @JoeDiego24 @simon_brooke Christ and you say I am deluded Diane. So it was you that made us win and bring in those changes?
— Alastair Campbell (@campbellclaret) August 11, 2015@campbellclaret @JoeDiego24 @simon_brooke No I am reminding you that policies you now claim credit for were initially derided.
— Diane Abbott (@HackneyAbbott) August 11, 2015@HackneyAbbott show me when I ever derided any of the policies in Alan Johnson's list? You're talking utter crap not for first or last time
— Alastair Campbell (@campbellclaret) August 11, 2015@campbellclaret Remind me of your support for civil partnerships when first introduced by Ken Livingstone?
— Diane Abbott (@HackneyAbbott) August 11, 2015Campbell has yet to respond.
