Posts Tagged ‘Brexit’
Brexit Vote Anniversary and “One Britain, One Nation” coming up…..
Today is the anniversary of the vote for Brexit led by national populists, believers in the ‘anglo-sphere’. nationalists and openly extreme right and the red-brown front. They were backed by a section of the left, from sovereigntists to self-identifying socialists including one section of the ‘revolutionary left’.
The Leave vote was opposed by liberals, social democrats, Greens, Labour supporters and by a large swathe of the internationalist radical left.
It is a grim day.
Independent.
Boris Johnson acknowledged the fifth anniversary of the vote by claiming it was his “mission” to use the UK’s new position in the world to deliver a better future for the British people.
The decision to leave the EU may now be part of our history, but our clear mission is to utilise the freedoms it brings to shape a better future for our people,” he said.
However, in a sharply contrasting message, the veteran pro-European Lord Heseltine said the outlook was “ominous”, with the Northern Ireland peace process under real threat.
The day is made grimmer by this coming event.
“the government is facing criticism after it emerged schoolchildren were being asked to sing a patriotic song in between classes.”
We are Britain and we have one dream, to unite all people in one great team (x2)
Our nation survived through many storms and many wars
We’ve opened our doors, and widened our island shores
We celebrate our differences with love in our hearts, united forever, never apart
We are Britain and we have one dream, to unite all people in one great team (x2)
So many different races, standing in the same place
So many different faces, moving at the same pace
We all stand together with pride in our hearts, united forever never apart
We are Britain and we have one dream, to unite all people in one great team (x2)
Strong Britain, great nation (x4)Great Britain
Education department challenged over support for One Britain One Nation day
Attempt to enlist schoolchildren in day celebrating British values criticised and ridiculed on social media
A tweet from the Department for Education said it was encouraging schools across the UK to celebrate the day and featured a link to onebritainonenation.com website.
The campaign, led by former policeman Kash Singh who is chief executive and founder of One Britain One Nation (OBON), says it needs the support of schools to “celebrate the day in the spirit it is intended”. The site says “OBON is devoted to galvanising the efforts of people from all backgrounds to rejoice in their pride in Great Britain.” The campaign’s supporters include actor Joanna Lumley, MP Brandon Lewis, and former MPs David Steel and Norman Tebbit.
The site says that schools should encourage children to clap for a minute to “pay tribute to all those people who helped during the Covid 19 pandemic crisis” and give a rendition of the OBON Day 2021 anthem.
The song, which included the lyrics “We are Britain and we have one dream to unite all people in one great team”, has provoked particular ridicule on social media.
Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) Runs 330 Local Election candidates – down from 650 in 2014.
There’s a lot of Corbynistas gloating at every poor opinion poll score for Labour. Keir Starmer, they say, lacks the common touch of Jeremy Corbyn, the popularity of his politics and the successes of his election campaigns. He is too moderate. A “resurrected New Labour project” is in the making.
Some have turned to the Whippet Party of Northern Independence, others to the revolutionary pro-Chinese state Marxism-Leninism of the Morning Star and the Communist Party of Britain.
An older grouping has now launched its own foray into electoral politics. Interestingly it comes from the hardline pro-Brexit Socialist Party and union RMT who worked with the CPB in what was described as a ‘left wing version of UKIP’, NO2EU, an electoral alliance, headed by Bob Crow, between the RMT, the Communist Party of Britain and the Socialist Party, subsequently led to the formation of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.
Here is the TUSC campaign.
TUSC: Launching a working-class electoral alternative in London
On Friday 9 April, over 70 attended the online campaign launch rally organised by the London Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), gearing up for the London elections on 6 May.
The rally was chaired by James Ivens, a London Socialist Party organiser. He opened the rally by reiterating the point that “TUSC candidates standing for the Greater London Authority (GLA) are standing to be the hot breath on the back of the necks of cutter-Khan, Starmer the abstainer, and their resurrected New Labour project”.
Candidates update: now it’s over 330 standing for TUSC on May 6
Candidates now agreed include an executive council member of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU); four members of UNISON’s national executive; two members of the UNISON Local Government Service Group Executive, plus the secretary of Glasgow Unison, the branch which led the magnificent equal pay strike in 2018; a former member of the RMT transport workers’ national executive; leaders of the ‘NHS workers say no’ campaign and two of the original McStrikers.
And along with a number of former Labour councillors standing as TUSC, we now have two TUSC candidates who were previously general election candidates for Labour in December 2019, just 14 months ago.
TUSC’s local election campaign had made such an impact that the Wikipedia page on them does no include anything more a brief reference to its existence. The 330 candidates is down from the 2014 local election candidacy when they ran 650. TUSC gained no seats (and, in one ward, no votes) and lost three anti-cuts councillors in Leicester and Hull. They retained one affiliated councillor each in Warrington, Walsall and Hull, and two in Southampton. In the 2016 elections, TUSC had three councillors in Southampton under the banner of Coxford Putting People First, Kevin Bennett having lost his seat in Warrington; Hull Red Labour and Walsall Democratic Labour also lost their remaining seats. Following the 2018 elections, TUSC retained at least one affiliated councillor in Coxford, Southampton, following the re-election (as Independent – Putting People First) of TUSC national steering committee member Keith Morrell. Two other former Putting People First councillors also retain their seats as Independents, but the group has since dissolved.[Morrell resigned in 2019.
The Socialist Workers Party which had been part of TUSC left in 2017.
The Socialist Workers Party has decided to suspend its membership of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC).
TUSC has provided a structure for trade unionists, campaigners and socialists to stand in elections against pro-austerity politicians.
It’s not a decision we take lightly.
…
Our small electoral united front would make it harder to achieve a larger united front with the Labour left.
The SWP, TUSC and Labour—how do we take on the Tories?
That move was influenced by Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour leadership but, despite his absence, they have not gone back on it. At present the SWP, prefers, like their own split, Counterfire, movementist politics, the belief that street protests and strikes are the way forward for the left to any electoral front.
Howie’s Corner sums up some other reasons for their decline.
“Militant” stands 330 candidates under the TUSC banner in local elections
This intervention is much weaker than in the past as the Socialist Party had a major split before the pandemic losing perhaps some 400 members plus the bast bulk of their version of the Fourth International though Peter Taffe managed to hang n to the CWI’s money much to the chagrin of his former allies around the world.
The SP also managed to lose the bulk of it’s experienced and well placed trade unionists inside the PCS union who now organise around Socialist Voice and remain cheerleaders for Mark Serwotka. The remains of Militant’s supporters have rallied around Marion Lloyd who failed in her challenge against the leadership though remains on the unions NEC
The new breakaway group Socialist Alternative (Note, Tendance Coatesy covered this split: Socialist Party, (former Militant) in Total International Split over those who have “buckled to the pressures of ‘Identity Politics’) . is barely able to publish a regular newspaper and the other grouping Socialist Appeal remains buried in Labour operating against party rules with some 400 plus supporters and a fortnightly paper.
Socialist Alternative would no doubt differ: SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE CAMPAIGN DAY A SUCCESS!
On 10 April, Socialist Alternative members up and down the country held stalls and attended protests on NHS pay, gender violence and Kill the Bill – part of a nationwide campaign day. We are proud to be part of a diverse range of working class movements, always seeking to offer a way forward and raise the need for socialist change. The day’s activities saw hundreds of people taking our leaflets and buying the new copy of our paper – with more than 340 sold in less than a week. Photos of a selection of our activities are posted below!
Poor old Socialist Appeal keeps humming the same old tune:
Starmer and the right wing: Leading the Labour Party ‘over a cliff’
None of these groups, from the CPB to TUSC, offer a serious left wing electoral alternative to Labour.
In the meantime the Tories have been making hay:
Festival of Brexit: Morning Star and Socialist Worker to get Top Billing.
Nostradamus of the Left to get top Billing.
“The festival is said to aim to celebrate creativity and foster unity among the British public, with the event’s organiser Martin Green describing the events as “open, original and optimistic”.”
I thought this was the wits of the Internet or that April the 1st had come early, but apparently not.
A celebration of British weather and a grow-your-own food initiative will be among the festivities.
A celebration of the British weather and the largest grow-your-own food project of modern times will be among the events being staged for a nationwide festival of creativity aimed at bringing the UK together in 2022.
Organisers of the £120m festival, commissioned by Theresa May’s government and supported by Boris Johnson, announced 10 teams who had successfully pitched ideas.
