Jeremy Corbyn has been re-elected leader of the Labour Party. I made him my fifth choice first time around and he was not my choice for leader this time either. As before, it’s because Jeremy does not present well as a future prime minister (although he has sharpened up his image since becoming leader). Owen Smith looks more like the run of we-could-have-a-chat-in-the-pub PMs we’ve had from John Major onwards (with the possible exception of Teresa May). I’m a PR person, sweeties, and that is my advice from a PR point-of-view.

We’re told that Labour is unelectable with Jeremy Corbyn as leader and certainly the opinion polls have shown Labour not doing as well as could be expected.

Some of this poor showing in the polls (but not in actual elections and by-elections, but that’s a different argument) is down to the public feeling the Labour Party does not have an effective leader and prime minster-in-waiting.

But some of it must surely be down to the undermining of Jeremy Corbyn’s position by many Labour MPs. There are many who never accepted the outcome of the leadership election and never gave Jeremy Corbyn a chance. From the beginning, they opposed him within the Parliamentary Labour Party, did not get behind him in the House of Commons and spoke out against him in public. Needless to say, this did not instil public confidence in Jeremy Corbyn or Labour as an effective force in British politics.

This resistance to Jeremy Corbyn culminated in a mass “awakening” from the Sunday after the Brexit vote onwards by a large proportion of the shadow front bench who seemingly all came to the same conclusion at the same time that this was the final straw with regards to Jeremy Corbyn. He had been the reason why the UK voted for Brexit and therefore they could not continue to serve under him in Parliament. This was the bizarre narrative that was used to attempt to explain what was clearly no more than a shabby coup attempt.

As if this wasn’t daft enough, these Labour MPs chose the days immediately after Brexit for their dramas – when they should have been putting David Cameron and the Tories on the ropes for the debacle of EU Referendum. Instead, the Brexit aftermath headlines were overshadowed by a daily ritual of ongoing resignations from the shadow team as yet more Labour MPs “suddenly” realised they couldn’t go on with their portfolios. No wonder Labour is doing so badly in the polls: who would want to vote for a bunch of people who more bring to mind the Keystone Cops rather than Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. Yes, I know the MPs did this to try to force Jeremy Corbyn out, but they ended up making themselves look amateurish and ridiculous.

And part of the justification for all this was that there would probably have to be a general election within months, either as a direct result of Brexit or because the new leader of the Conservative Party, therefore Prime Minister, would “have” to go to the country for a mandate. Therefore, the argument went, it was urgent that Labour change its leader asap. You might say that hindsight is a wonderful thing, as clearly there won’t be a general election any time soon, but please take my word that I was never of the view that there had to be one as a result of a change of PM mid-term – due to the precedents of Brown, Major, Callaghan etc. Again, these Labour MPs simply displayed their lack of nous for everyone to see.

There is an irony in all of this, considering Jeremy Corbyn is said to not be up to the job.

So, remembering that Jeremy Corbyn is not my first choice for leader of the Labour Party, what to do?

One option is for a continuation of resistance to Jeremy Corbyn in Parliament. See above and the polls for why is this not a good idea.

Another option is for a split and the formation of a rival party to the Labour Party, such as happened with the SDP. See the General Election results in the 1980s for why that is not a good idea.

So, the only option left is a novel one for so many Labour MPs – get behind Jeremy Corbyn. Work with him, debate with him, win some arguments and lose others, but support him.

And please recognise that, post-Brexit, British politics needs to change. The Labour Party needs policies that respond to the dissatisfaction that partly fuelled the Brexit vote – for those who feel that they have no prospects of a decent job, a secure home, a good school for their children or the quality of health and social care they need to have a reasonable life: policies for those of us who understand that a decent society is only decent if it is decent for all.

For the sake of the people of this country, it’s time for Labour MPs to quit their clowning and get their collective act together. It’s time for the Labour Party to come together under Jeremy Corbyn.