The British Tory Cabinet's windy Brexit letter will not go down as one of the greatest pieces of political writing in the modern era. It is another example of the grandiose but illogical babble that modern senior British politicians imagine will prove their stature and demonstrate their grasp of history. They are fiddling around for glory in the decayed residues of Empire - with only a middle sized, deeply divided, increasingly impoverished country, with uncertain prospects, available for them to rule. The paradox is that despite the new generation of Public School champions, who want to 'beef up' Britain's lame duck Commonwealth and call it 'Empire.2'; despite the fatuous parallels that Tory wiz-kids make between PM May and Elizabeth 1st.; Britain's large, youthful and active left wing, both inside and outside Corbyn's Labour Party, now have to push like fury for Brexit to be a starting point for a new sort of Britain.
This call to action does not rest on the premises that, somehow, Brexit is innately progressive, or some sort of working class breakthrough. If that were so then the fascist Le Pen, who is the only French Presidential candidate who demands Frexit, would be worthy of support! The British working class split on Brexit; Glasgow and London going one way and Sunderland and Newport going another.
Why do we face these conundrums over the EU? Because neither Brexit (nor Frexit) alone are real choices about the political and economic direction of a country or society. Neither 'yes' or 'no' to the EU can be taken as some supreme working class principle. The actual content of such votes is everything. The British referendum was the means by which the right of the Tory Party filled the political vacuum created by Britain's political crisis. It was (and still is) associated with a big rise in racism. That was the main reason to vote 'remain' at the time of the referendum. But now the context of Brexit, this diaphanous, hard to grasp, will of the wisp, has changed once again. Now we still have the unreality of Britain's Brexit vote as a society changer - in and of itself, but from the other direction. This is demonstrated by the new, ghastly conglomeration of political plenipotentiaries now regrouping to 'defend' Britain against Brexit. War criminals, major Financiers and Liberal Democrats are not a savoury selection at the best of times. On the march, seeking the support of 48% of the population, these 'giants' of globalisation - albeit of the Silicon Valley kind - are no more attractive than Britain's future as a tax haven.
Unsurprisingly, the left have yet to make their mark in the sound and fury over Brexit, which beats like an empty big base drum over Britain's mainstream politics. But a new reality is now emerging after Brexit and it has to be caught and fought. Britain's Tory government is entering years of negotiations with the EU on what sort of country Britain should be. The government is not negotiating with the people that it rules. It is working things out with another cabal of politicians who think they run things across the European Continent. Not only are they consulting the wrong people; they are leaving out the key issues. And that is where the left, if they wish to be part of the mainstream argument, need to stand. If the British people want to change their country for the better then first, it is the British people who need to be consulted and second, nothing is taken off the table in advance.
Let us use the useful instrument of the referendum now Britain 'controls its own country' to deal with some very basic problems. The left might mobilise to lead the call for debate and a vote on key concerns. Meanwhile the negotiations in Brussels about Britain's future need to be televised and open to all. If Britain is to 'win its freedom' from EU sovereignty then the working class across Europe need to able to see and hear what is talked about and what the real issues are that have priority for their leaders. Will EU 'free' mean austerity 'free' for Britain? Will 'free' trade mean fair trade, and fair, shared, wage totals?
The left in Britain needs now actively and urgently to shift the Brexit debate - in Britain.
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