Hi there, personally I would suggest that you stick it out , as many lecturing jobs do require a Ph.D. Even if you don't continue the research you are doing now, it will definately still help you to have finished the programme of research that has been funded, and having a PhD would enable to you to do research in other fields that interest you more (perhaps teaching and learning?) - nb. most academics do some research.. even if it is just evaluating a new style of teaching or surveying student perceptions.. and indeed you would need to be able to teach research methods/skills too as a lecturer. Unless you are considering retraininig as a primary or secondary school teacher I would definately try and stick it out! It is very hard going and takes a long time (I eventually finished mine last year) butit does open a lot more doors to you employment and funding wise if you complete and pass it. Good luck!

Departmental politics is all but common, and probably hearing about it is good experience if you plan on staying in academia, though perhaps you could just steer your supervisors by having a draft agenda or list of things you want to go through in your meeting for when they start bringing irrelevant stuff up. By the way, just a thought - I am sure you don't want your supervisors to see this thread, perhaps you should post under a different name to your own for things like this just so it is kept confidential. Good luck!