WHERE does Labour go from here?

We asked the same question at the start of last year as Jeremy Corbyn struggled to quell a rebellion in the ranks by reshuffling his front bench. Owen Smith’s failed leadership bid later in the year may have thwarted any attempted to unseat Mr Corbyn, but Labour looks to be facing another 12 months of toil.

In domestic and international politics, 2016 will be remembered as a year of revolution when so much of the accepted order was ripped asunder. One of the few constants, however, was Labour’s abject failure to form an effective opposition capable of holding Theresa May’s Tories to account.

If the party fails to make any headway this year, then it is time for Mr Corbyn to stand down and give someone else a chance at making it an electable force.

Even close ally Len McLusky is starting to come around to the idea that a change at the top may ultimately hold the key to Labour turning around its fortunes, describing the party’s current standing in the opinion polls as “awful”. In a recent Guardian state of the parties poll, Labour sat 16 points behind the Conservatives.

Towards the end of last year the party saw its support drift away in two directions – both to the pro-European Liberal Democrats and Brexit-backing Ukip – as it struggled to appeal to a broad base.

Mr Corbyn may shrug off calls today from Blairite think-tank The Fabian Society for a shift towards the centre ground, but when one of his most vocal advocates questions his future he would do well to sit up and take notice.

If, as expected, Mrs May decides against holding an early General Election, then there is still time for Labour to regroup and claim victory in 2020.

As 2016 showed, stranger things have happened.