Brexit Britain, like Drumpf’s America, is being held up by those far-right leaders as a beacon to light their countries’ way to the nativist (white), protectionist and illiberal future they have long aspired to. Differences in language and accent can’t obscure the common currents of xenophobia, bigotry and aggression that are evident across the west.
Faced with these dark trends, so reminiscent of our European past, the Labour party also has a collective choice to make. We can hedge and triangulate, appease and acquiesce, and hope to ameliorate the worst, in economic and political terms. Or we can take a stand for our values, for what we believe to be in the best interests of our people, our country and the wider world. It is a stand against the political lies that preceded the Brexit vote and the fantasy island economics that have followed it. A properly patriotic stand, which acknowledges the modern challenges of globalisation and migration, but warns against the age-old dangers of blaming the foreigner for all ills, and so rejects the shouty jingoism and deceitful promises of the Brexiteers.
I believe that leadership from Labour has to begin in parliament in the coming weeks, when we see the legislation to trigger article 50. We all heard the threat from May that she would pursue “an alternative economic model” if Brexit turned bad, and we all know what that means: a low-tax, low-wage, low-security economy, as dreamed of by generations of hard-right politicians. If that is even a remote possibility, then Labour has a duty to try and prevent it, in the interests of the people we represent.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/24/remoaner-article-50-brexit-labour
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