Join Q&A with John Rentoul on Labour’s civil war, Andy Burnham and a government at odds with itself

Welcome to an exclusive Ask Me Anything session with me, John Rentoul, chief political commentator at The Independent.

To see my questions and answers, scroll down. Make sure to press the “load more” button to read the full Q&A.

I have not seen Labour turn on itself like this since the 1970s. A party with a commanding majority and a prime minister still in the early days of his government has somehow contrived to look permanently at war with itself.

The immediate trigger is the Andy Burnham row – and, in particular, the decision of 50 Labour MPs to sign a letter demanding that Keir Starmer reverse his decision to block Burnham’s return to the Commons.

It was a protest that was never going to succeed, but it revealed something much more serious about the state of the parliamentary Labour Party.

Why does Labour struggle so badly to control its own MPs? Why does a government with a majority almost as large as Tony Blair’s appear constantly on the verge of another rebellion or another U-turn?

And why do so many Labour MPs seem more interested in fighting each other than in governing – or in taking on Nigel Farage?

This is not just about one by-election or one thwarted leadership rival. It is about the most unruly parliamentary Labour party in history, a leadership repeatedly forced into retreat, and a government that has avoided defeat in the Commons only by backing down before the vote is held.

In this Ask Me Anything live Q&A, I’ll be answering your questions on why Keir Starmer finds it so hard to impose discipline, whether Labour is becoming ungovernable, and what this latest bout of infighting says about the party’s prospects in office.

If you have a question, submit it now and join me live for our Ask Me Anything Q&A on Friday, 30 January at 2pm GMT below.

If you’re struggling to post your question, please make sure you are logged in to a registered account on independent.co.uk. Register or log in here – then return to this page to submit.

For more insight into UK politics, check out my weekly Commons Confidential newsletter. The email, exclusive to Independent Premium subscribers, takes you behind the curtain of Westminster.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, head here to find out more.