Brexit - a challenge for Progressives

I have friends in the Labour Party who genuinely believe that Brexit promises opportunities for the advancement of progressive ideas.

I however have grave doubts about their strategy and the likely consequences of Brexit.

For one -

Britain faces a number of challenges to her economic future. Already some companies are preparing for to move (back) inside the EU to enjoy the full benefits of free movement of goods, persons and capital. They want to avoid any new tariff barriers that may be erected. That's bad for jobs in the UK, and bad for tax revenues. Some ideologues of the hard-right want austerity, not so much to reduce debt (which has been a huge failure in recent years), but to cause a reduction in the role of the State. With the UK Tories still able to attract millions of votes, and win more seats at Westminster, progressives who think that Brexit will unlock the keys to a greater role for Government expenditure are likely to be sorely disappointed.

My view is that we need to hold on to the rights already enjoyed - not sacrifice them to the Brexiters who want all EU regulations and rights annuled. I don't believe in giving up achievements, in order to refight battles already won. If, as some seem to believe, other EU countries want to halt socialism in its tracks - then withdrawing our role in EU decision making will strengthen "them". I'd love to know how socialism is achieved by shooting ourselves - and British workers - in the foot. For more on the rights protected by the EU (which Member States cannot unilaterally abolish) see here.

The way that hard-right Brexiters have been prepared to cynically play on progressive wishes is highlighted by the episode of the NHS bus. Deliberate lies were told to encourage progressive voters that the NHS would be strengthened by a vote to leave. Yet many of the leading Brexiters - who funded the dissemination of this lie - are no friends of a National Health Service. Their ideology dictates that privately funded, for profit provision of health services are a "better way"

There were people who backed Brexit within the Labour Party - but they were a minority in the campaign. It was driven by the hard-right - Arron Banks, Paul Sykes, Stuart Wheeler, Nigel Farage, Ian Duncan Smith, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom. The break up of the EU, because it represents to them a body interfering with business' right to do as it pleases - and imposing rights of workers and consumers, is also supported by the likes of Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, many of the tea-party tendency within the US Republican Party, Marine Le Pen and other right wing extremists. The Leave campaign - and today's shrill calls for a hard Brexit - have their cheerleaders in the Mail and Express groups - never friendly to progressives - but with a history of sympathy to the fascist leaders of the 1920s and 1930s.

They want Brexit - specifically a hard Brexit - to let them establish their ideological goals in one country - the UK - and then to spread their ideas by undermining the EU and the UN.

Progressives give them aid and assistance at their peril.

No Blank Cheque!

The recent General Election in the UK was fought on many issues - but looming large over it was Theresa May's vision that "Brexit means Brexit". She kept telling us that she was fighting the election to get a mandate for the negotiations which are about to start.

She lost many seats, AND her majority in the House of Commons - based on that campaign. She has NO mandate for a 'hard Brexit'.

The other truth is that the referendum of June 2016 resulted in a huge "blank cheque" - and the right wing Europhobes

[actually it's not the Europe part they hate - but that the EU insists on what they assert is the "burdening" of business by regulations (and we've had a tragic reminder this week of the results of watering down regulations) and enforceable rights for workers and consumers]

have filled in that cheque.

We should be demanding the right to say what is written in that "cheque", before it is irrevocably cashed.

Magna Carta Day

802 years ago, King John was forced to do a deal with rebel barons on the meadows of Runnymede. They had become exasperated with his abuse of executive power - and demanded a halt.

I|n doing so they forced him to concede a principle which is central to the modern British Constitution - that the Executive must operate within the bounds of its legal authority.

It was a start - and although John sought to renege on it (and provoked a civil war which ended with his death)"., the principle remains. It has been developed further.But today we can rightly celebrate what happened on those Surrey meadows over eight centuries ago.

https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta

A City Shining on a Hill?

There has been much to admire about the United States

- a revolution based on the principle of "no taxation without representation"
- a Constitution which enforces a strict separation of powers
- a Constitution, as amended, which includes rights that Citizens can enforce
- the assertion in their 'Declaration of Independence' that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed"
- fantastic technical innovation - including sending men to the moon; playing a leading role in the development of and use of computers and information technology
- its' "can do" attitudes
- some excellent academic institutions and think tanks.

I have loved visiting the United States, especially Washington DC and NoVa (Northern Virginia). I'm an American Football fan; and an addict of American politics.

John Winthrop, in a speech made as the Pilgrim Fathers approached their new land, is credited with applying this phrase taken from the Bible to the role that 'America' could play in the world. Presidents, including John F Kennedy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaXt7GE0aUo  and Ronald Reagan have made stirring speeches on this subject.

Yet, I write this post in great sadness. In recent years there has been coming out of certain quarters in the USA a poison which we in the UK and Europe need to protect ourselves from. It was prompted by the news that a gunman had opened fire in an area I deeply love, the Del Ray area of Alexandria, Virginia - injuring (as far as we know as I write this) a number of people, including the Majority Whip of the House of Representatives. It is reported that between 50 and 100 shots were fired from a set-automatic rifle (The Hill : Rep Mo Brooks [quoted in a BBC Report]).

The effort to weaken gun control has been part of the poison - each time I stay in Virginia, I hear of new changes to the law of that State which make it easier for anyone to get hold of some deadly lethal weapons - I've sat in gallery of the House of Representatives as very limited measures to improve safety were opposed and thrown out. THE NRA has been on the offensive - and despite the number and frequency of mass shootings, have gained the support of some Members of Congress, and of State legislatures - not only to reject sensible restrictions, but to push away restrictions that had existed.

We've seen the rise of a rabid populism - and fake news, culminating in the election of a man wholly unfitted to be the President of the United States. Last night I was appalled at the poor performance of the Attorney Officer of the United States - as he displayed a worrying inability to remember certain things as he testified before a Senate Committee.

We've seen a determined push to make it more difficult for certain parts of the American electorate to register to vote - for purely party political objectives.

We've seen the World Economy (as well as the American economy) taken to the brink by some Congressmen who threatened to let the USA default on its debts. We've seen the USA pull out of the Paris Climate Accord - and restart activities which threaten to further degrade the state of our planet.

There is a common theme. The push towards these developments has come from a particular part of the American political spectrum. A movement calling itself "conservative" has been behind a determined effort to push very radical ideas. Fifty-three years ago Barry Goldwater was their standard bearer - and he was given a beating at the Presidential Election. But the movement kept on planning, and spending, and removing Republican moderates. The election of Donald Trump was the, perhaps inevitable, result of their activities. Moderation was hunted down - some very black (political) arts were used to achieve the takeover of the Republican Party - and the country. Some of its fellow travellers were even overtaken by the monster they fed (Eric Cantor, John Boehner). - as Kennedy said in his inauguration speech - "those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside."

The damage to the American system is vividly described in the books of Norman Ornstein and Thomas E Mann ("The Broken Branch" 2006, "It's Even Worse Than It Looks") and many others.

But why does it threaten the UK and Europe? The same crazy ideology is being pushed over here. So called "conservative" ideas have gained a foothold in the British Conservative Party. While the Conservative Party has given public support to the continuation of the National Health Service for over sixty years - there are some now suggesting that the market based approach of US health insurance would be better (!?!?!?). Brexit has its strong supporters - and funders - amongst the American 'conservatives'. We've seen the advocacy of similar barriers to voter registration,

As progressives - we need to look closely at the tactics they have used to push their ideas to such prominence and power in the USA. We also need to prepare our counter-offensive. Progressives in the US failed to take them seriously - we must not make the same mistake.

Toxic

We shouldn't be squeamish about the conduct of politics. Throughout history power has been distributed and used by the force of arms. Rivals have been killed, and opponents silenced. The peaceful resolution of disputes has not been the norm. We are privileged to live in a country and a time when elections and argument have replaced the brutal use of power.

Yet all is not well with our democracy. There are signs that parts of our system are turning toxic. The last year has illustrated this - but the roots go back further. In this post I'd like to highlight some of my concerns - and suggest ways that we can drain the swamp.

FALSE NEWS - It is often asserted that politicians always lie. Sometimes this is unfair - at elections claims are made about intentions, which may are genuine - though optimistic. Events can foil those intentions. Yes, politicians should be more realistic about what they can actually achieve. But this is very different from the cynical statement of a falsehood. In both the US Presidential Election and the UK's referendum on the EU we saw a significant rise in deliberate falsehoods being produced and repeated. And it's not only politicians - some parts of the media are regularly poisoning the minds of their readers. We need to call out the liars.

NO COMPROMISE - Politics is the art of the possible. It usually requires negotiation and compromise. The Trump approach is ultimately destructive. It can often end in violence.

VOTER SUPPRESSION - This is not a new phenomenon - last night I was listening to (the first part of) the audiobook of Robert Caro's "Master of the Senate". The introduction describes the 'voter suppression' rife in the South during the 1950s to stop black voters registering. But it is back today. Political consultants advise their clients how to achieve it - and we saw it in the media during the British General Election. Voters were led to believe that it was pointless voting for anyone but the Conservatives - the intention being to keep potential progressive voters at home. In both the US and UK we've seen it made more difficult for people to register. This is a worrying trend.

We have to call out, and stand against, these toxic tactics. Progressive parties and politicians have not been innocent of using such tactics - but the powerhouse has been the so-called 'conservative movement'. It has infected the Republicans in the USA - and they have been imported into the UK.

We need to restate the basic values of our democracy - the "Rule of Law"; fairness in elections; a willingness to deal fairly, negotiate and compromise.

The Future Belongs to Progressives.....

If we make it happen.

I was at the counts for the two Milton Keynes constituencies - what an atmosphere. Labour, Lib-Dems and Greens were thrilled - and the Tories were as miserable as sin. The result wasn't ideal - the two Tories got back in - but with wafer thin majorities. The writing is on the wall. All their money; their powerful allies in the media; and their scare tactics failed to dissuade people to vote for progressives.

Further analyses of the results nationwide are also encouraging. Young people came out in great numbers - and voted overwhelmingly for progressive parties. Older voters looked backwards with a rose-tinted view of the past - and backed the Tories. I'm thrilled that the next generation is standing up and taking its own future into their own hands. They are more tolerant, better educated, less affected by older prejudices.

But the task is incomplete. Those who have their privileges to protect will fight hard to keep them.

They try to scare people by warning that the better provision of education, health services and infrastructure will cripple us economically. The reverse is true - a nation that invests in health, education and infrastructure is better able to perform well economically in the future.

Their campaigns rely on fear to motivate people. It's the stock-in-trade of papers like the Mail and Express - their profits come from making people fearful - because fearful people buy the goods they profit from pushing. It's now a well known joke that the Express runs its "this is predicted to be the worst winter for decades" every year - not to inform, but to push people to buy things to prepare for the awful tempests coming; it's why they seek to promote fears about being overrun by hostile, criminal immigrants - you do need that security camera system promoted on page 5! And they try to frighten people against voting for progressive parties - not because they want to inform - but, to use the political term - they want to promote "voter suppression" - amongst supporters of their opponents (character assassination of the leaders of the parties opposing them : "X can't possibly win - so why bother" : TINA - There is no alternative : Vote for X and your taxes will soar through the roof)

Progressives offer hope - and opportunity. Education is a way to empower people - as is a Health Service. There is a great truth in the belief of the Labour Party that "by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone."

But progressives have often been outmanoeuvred by the forces of conservatism. We need to think - and act - in a way that foils their efforts. I am not proposing that the Green, Lib-Dems & Labour parties should merge to form a super-party. There are different traditions and priorities. But each of those parties (as is the Conservative Party) - is a coalition of like-minded people. Monolithic parties are not the answer - the strains are too great, and progressives are - commendably - not prepared to remain silent when there are disagreements. But we need to be more open to co-operation for common ends.

Let's focus on what we agree on - and fight for those priorities. Sometimes that will mean tactical voting - sometimes we need to save resources by not pitting progressive against (slightly different) progressive. Most of all we need to acknowledge publicly that politics is not a constant battle between rival institutions (the parties) - but the art of the possible - negotiating and compromising in order to achieve a result that most would be happy with.