IT'S been a funny old summer. Father of The House Ken Clarke MP described this current parliament as the maddest he has ever seen. His experience is far greater than mine, but this summer’s ‘silly season’ has been the maddest I’ve seen.

All through this summer, the two parties main have been stuck in their own, private civil wars. Of course, the absence of normal political news during the parliamentary recess opens the opportunity for more peculiar things to win headlines; whilst the fact that MPs are not talking to each other and seeing each other on a daily basis means that we tend to go a bit ‘native’.

In the Blue Corner is a bloody battle between hard-line Brexiteers, rallying behind Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson under the banner #StandUp4Brexit and the rallying cry “Chuck Chequers”, and the so-called Remoaners who believe that the short-term effect of stumbling out of the EU like a drunk being chucked out of a bar well past closing time is probably going to be pretty disastrous for our economy.

In the Red Corner is the opposition, completely engrossed in turning its attention away from the government and onto itself as it dives ever deeper into an anti-Semitism row where even the head of Corbyn support group Momentum seems to think they ought to be doing better. Meanwhile ever more videos and photos emerge of their leader with questionable friends at ‘interesting’ events.

In the cross party, Red and Blue Corner, they are trying to have another referendum (what are the odds on that being more divisive?). And for anyone paying attention, in the Orange Corner, they are thinking about having a non-MP as their party leader.

It’s all bonkers. I’ve spent all but a few days this summer in Worcestershire. Looking around and meeting people, I’m struck that most people don’t care a jot about the political infighting. However, they do trust their politicians to look after their interests and get things right. The next couple of weeks will see parliament back to business as usual and we can get a proper idea of where we are going with everything.

Then it’s the gruesome three weeks of Party Conferences. I’ll be watching from the side-lines this year, staying at home, trying to get better, higher paid jobs here in Wyre Forest and improve our lot in North Worcestershire.