“After Johnson’s Brexit, us”

Submitted by AWL on 14 August, 2019 - 10:46 Author: Sacha Ismail
LeFT

Reprinted from Labour for a Socialist Europe (labourforasocialisteurope.org)

A new “left-wing” campaign for Brexit, “Leave – Fight – Transform” (LeFT), has been launched with great fanfare from the Morning Star.

The initial signatories, too, confirm that this is an initiative of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) and other bits of British Stalinism. More on that below.

What is striking about the content of the statement is not just that it indulges in an extravagant version of the Lexit fantasy – the idea that some form of Brexit is necessary to and can help bring about working-class and socialist progress in Britain. Much worse than that, it is essentially a petition in support of Boris Johnson’s Brexit policy.

The statement is not opposed to a No Deal Brexit. Not at all. Although it does not use the words “We support a No Deal Brexit”, that is clearly and logically what it is saying. Nor does it counterpose a better, Labour-led alternative Brexit (a fantasy in our view, but nonetheless) to what is actually happening.

On one level, this is quite shocking. But it is not surprising when you consider that the CPB and Morning Star already support a No Deal Brexit, with Britain’s economy moving to “WTO rules”.

So just at the point where the dominant faction of the Tories, with the wind of the Brexit Party behind them, are pushing full-speed into a scorched-earth neo-liberal, radically authoritarian and anti-migrant national populist Brexit – these “left-wingers” step up to help them by shouting “Ensure the 2016 referendum result is implemented” (to quote their statement).

The statement has nothing to say about the burgeoning threat from the right in Britain and instead presents the EU as the main driver of the attacks we face.

At this point it’s worth considering who has signed the statement. It’s not (yet at least) a hugely impressive list – 80 people in all. Some of the key names of the Stalinist-influenced Labour left are on it, but not that many. Who knows what internal politics or divisions are involved there.

Key figures in the CPB, its associated organisations and its milieu are well-represented – including CPB General Secretary Robert Griffiths (some of the Labour Party signatories are very close to and perhaps even crypto-CPB members, e.g. Marcus Barnett and Eddie Dempsey). It’s worth noting that the CPB were the organisers of a campaign for people to boycott the European elections, i.e. to refuse to vote for Labour even – or it might be more accurate to say because of – the Brexit Party surge.

Some comrades have speculated that this new organisation was launched because a pre-existing one, “The Full Brexit”, was too discredited by a number of its founders supporting and in one case – James Heartfield – standing for the Brexit Party.

But TFB has been quick to get a statement out supporting and trumpeting its involvement in LeFT. And the initial LeFT signatories include Phil Cunliffe, a central participant in the same ex-Revolutionary Communist Party/Spiked network as Heartfield, fellow Brexit Party candidate (now MEP) Claire Fox et al – and himself a supporter of the Brexit Party! Plus another Spiked! writer, George Hoare.

This is not an initiative any self-respecting socialist should have anything to do with.

It was therefore genuinely disappointing to see that LeFT’s signatories include a number of supporters of the anti-Stalinist (ex-SWP) socialist group RS21: Such as Jen Wilkinson, Brian Parkin and Colin Wilson. It seems surreal that these comrades could put their names to such a thing.

Consider that the statement, despite pro forma references to “abuse of migrants” and “the structural racism of fortress Europe”, says nothing about the actually-existing assault on migrants or what the left should say or do to oppose it. How could it, given both what it is supporting and who is behind it?

In the 1930s, the German Stalinists dismissed proposals for a labour movement united front to beat back the Nazis, and in effect downplayed the Nazi threat, with a blithe declaration that after Hitler came to power, it would soon be their turn. “After Hitler, us”. Meanwhile they competed with the Nazis’ nationalism, insisting that they shared a common goal of “national liberation”.

Johnson, of course,and the Tories are not Nazis. But the signatories to the LeFT campaign are essentially saying “After Johnson’s Brexit, us”.

• See also an Open Letter from Young Labour members.

Comments

Submitted by James Heartfield (not verified) on Sun, 18/08/2019 - 13:45

No ‘self-respecting socialist’ would champion an unelected European legislature over and elected one in Westminster.

Submitted by Brent Cutler (not verified) on Mon, 19/08/2019 - 20:55

It's incorrect to start a sentence with "But"

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