Political Column April 12

By any normal rules of the political game, it's all up for the Labour leader. When those behind you on the backbenches openly revolt against your leadership, it is a short countdown to the end, and a resignation to "spend more time on my allotment."

This, though, rather overlooks several important things.

Jeremy Corbyn does not exist in a normal political world, and is not a political life-form bound by the normal political world rules.

He has risen from the unexplored universe of anti-politicians, sustained and given authority, vitality and life force not by fellow politicians, but by ordinary people from outside the Westminster bubble. In that sense he has something in common with another of the prominent modern anti-politicians, Donald Trump.

Are these politicians that other politicians would vote for? No. They are rebels in power.

Mr Corbyn can be written off because that is what you do with Jeremy Corbyn. You write him off. But not safely.

He was written off during the Labour leadership contest, when he was almost seen as a bit of a joke candidate, included in the line-up as a no-hope sop to the Left.

He was written off when his own MPs overwhelmingly declared in a secret ballot that they had no confidence in him.

He was written off at the last general election, when he was so far behind in the polls that Theresa May thought it didn't really matter what policies she had.

And now he can be written off again, with his poll ratings on the slide and a difficult few weeks during which those of his own MPs who have found it expedient to take a ride on the Corbyn bandwagon have felt compelled to start leaping off again.

Roll in damaging allegations of anti-semitism in the party that he leads, a response to the Salisbury nerve agent attack which dismayed even some of those on his front bench, and a make-it-up-as-you-go-along policy on Brexit - at least one aspect of which has been described as ******** by shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner - and you can start preparing the funeral rites.

But there is nothing that can get rid of him. He is as bombproof as if he had a massive Commons majority.

Faced with trouble, all he has to do is ignore it. Hunted by a media wanting to ask awkward questions, he simply disappears.

They have one set of rules. He has the Corbyn rules.

Over at 10 Downing Street, Theresa May has had a transformation. She had been looking worn, dogged by difficulties, and in place by default rather than merit, until the Salisbury attack.

She rose to the occasion. She led. She galvanised international support. She spoke for Britain. She looked strong.

It has been her finest hour.

She has a different set of troubles. Finest hours are, well, hours. The fundamental problems which have been thrown into shadow by events in Salisbury are all still going to be there in the next Parliamentary term - tortuous and difficult Brexit negotiations and a perilous position when it comes to Commons votes.

Should the case against Russia remain unproven, or be called into doubt, then it will be Jeremy Corbyn whose voice will in retrospect be seen as the voice of wisdom, even though Labour has seemed more keen on attacking Boris Johnson over the nerve agent attack than Vladimir Putin.

We are not half way to the next scheduled general election - it is not due until 2022 - but somehow it feels as if we are at half time. Later this year there is supposed to be a key "meaningful" Brexit vote, and it is not hard to imagine circumstances which might arise which could trigger an early general election.

Theresa May had a torrid first half and often looked out of sorts, but has cheered her fans with a late goal. Jeremy Corbyn started well, but of late all the passes have been going awry.

Time to trot out that old game-of-two-halves cliche.

It remains all to play for.