Corbyn is Facilitating Farage

Corbyn's Labour Party is facilitating Farage and his ridiculous Brexit Party. But, as with the self-publicising Farage himself, although it is ridiculous, the Brexit Party does have one advantage. It knows which side of this struggle between two great class camps it is on. Farage typifies the individualist, mentality, of all of those 12-15 million small private capitalists for whom Brexit is the flagship of their attempts to turn the clock backwards, to reverse the gains made by the social-democratic state over the last century, to try – it is bound to fail, but the consequence for the working-class will be disastrous, as those reactionary elements attempt to achieve their goals – to return to a world in which, there is unrestricted, free market competition, where workers' rights are ditched, and workers are suppressed by a strong Bonapartist state, and where all of this is to be conducted within the confines of a nation state whose usefulness ended more than half a century ago. 

Farage has a simple message to the BP's supporters, and those that might be persuaded to fall in behind; it is force through Brexit at whatever cost. The BP has no qualms about ignoring any concept of democracy. It is not concerned that a majority of people, today, oppose Brexit, or that about 1 million people in the electorate, today, who mostly oppose Brexit, by around a 4:1 ratio, did not even get a vote in 2016, or that a similar number of old people, who were the ones who voted overwhelmingly for Brexit, have since left the electorate. For Farage, and the BP, all that counts is that, on one day, in 2016, they managed, by hook and by crook, to scrape a small proportional majority in favour of Brexit, for which they have been campaigning for the last 40 odd years. 

By contrast, although more than 90% of Labour members oppose Brexit, and around 75% of Labour voters, nationally, oppose Brexit, including clear majorities of Labour voters, in those constituencies that voted for Leave, Labour, who you would have thought could have seen the need, and also the opportunity to push an equally clear anti-Brexit position, is seen as a Brexit also ran party, behind, Farage's BP, and the Tories. Ronnie Campbell, speaking on Friday's Newsnight, never spoke a truer word, when he said “We are just like the Tories”. Of course, he didn't mean it in that way. He meant that the Tories are split over Europe, and so is Labour. That is true. However, 80% of Tory voters back a No Deal Brexit, and May continues to argue for Brexit. She can still hold out the prospect of again making a sharp right turn towards a No Deal, which is likely as the BP, eats into their vote share, which will be seen in the local elections, and, if nothing changes, in the European Parliament elections. If not, the Tories will ditch her, and put in place someone like Bojo, Raab or Gove, who will make that shift, and see all the BP votes come flooding back to them, sending Farage into his sixth retirement, leaving him free to return to his lavish lifestyle, and his flirtation with the various less salubrious elements of the global elite such as Trump, Bannon, Putin et al. There is no sign yet, however, that Corbyn will change course, to be a convincing opponent of Brexit. 

As I suggested would be the case last year. The vast majority of Labour activists continue to argue against Brexit, but despite the supposed new broom that Corbyn was supposed to bring in, whereby Labour would be a member-led party, it is the close cabal of Stalinists around Corbyn himself that keep control over the party's policies and public statements. No one can have been that surprised that, for all of its pronouncements about party democracy, we have again seen the party leadership simply impose candidates for the European Parliament elections on members. It means that the candidates selected are either the old Blair-right, sitting MEP's, or else Stalinist hacks appointed by the party leadership. None of them are going to give out a clear progressive, internationalist and socialist message around which the party can mobilise confidently, and win support. 

Indeed, the fiasco of the party leaflet that was leaked and then withdrawn, because it made no reference whatsoever to the party's policy of demanding a second referendum on any proposed Brexit deal, illustrates the point, and shows why Corbyn's worst nightmare has been the possibility of having to fight the European elections, or a General Election prior to Brexit, because it means he would have to come off the fence, and say whether his Labour Party is a pro or an anti-Brexit party. We all know the truth. The Labour Party, if it is defined as its members, is a massively anti-Brexit Party, even if defined by its fudged policy, as determined by the 2018 conference, it is a decidedly anti-Brexit Party, committed to another referendum, with Remain on that ballot. But, Corbyn, and his Stalinist allies are avowedly pro-Brexit. 

Its only necessary to look at the mouthpiece of those Stalinists – The Morning Star – which has come out to argue against voting Labour, if Labour commits to another referendum, as Andrew Coates has described. 

This same rotten, reactionary Red-Brown alliance between Stalinists and ultra nationalists is nothing new. It was seen in the, at first, informal alliance between the Stalinists in the USSR, and Hitler's Nazis, and then by the formal alliance in the Hitler-Stalin Pact; it was seen in the Spanish Civil War, when the Stalinists cooperated with the Francoists to murder their political opponents on the left. It was seen in the 1970's, when the CP, and its fellow travellers, linked up with ultra right-wing nationalists like Enoch Powell, and the National Front to oppose EEC membership. It was seen more recently when the CP and its fellow travellers created No2EU, and stood on a nationalist platform of opposing the EU, putting themselves on the same side as the BNP. 

So, its no surprise that today, we not only see the Morning Star, for which Corbyn was once a regular contributor, coming out to argue against voting Labour. They have not dared go the logical next step of calling on their supporters to vote for Farage's Party, but only for tactical reasons of internal party management of their own. But, of course, that has not stopped others in that same tradition of making that further logical step. It is no surprise that the other renowned British self-publicist, “gorgeous” George Galloway, has come out to argue for a vote for Farage's reactionary nationalist Brexit Party. Nor is it any wonder that those of the strange sect that was once the Revolutionary Communist Party (that many at the time suspected was actually created by the secret services as an agent provocateur group inside the far left milieu), and which, as  Bob From Brockley points out has morphed through being Living Marxism, to Spiked Online (backed by the Koch Brothers), and the Institute of Ideas, have also joined forces with Farage. Their main achievement seems to be their ability, despite representing absolutely nothing and nobody, other than themselves, to be able to get a decadent, and pathetic British Tory media to repeatedly invite them on to TV and radio to spout their ridiculous ideas. But, that is true of the Tory media's prolonged feting of Farage, and other other UKIP 'notables', like Suzanne Evans et al, over the years, who the BBC, for example, have always been happy to provide a platform for on Question Time, The Daily Politics and so on. 

We are at a crucial juncture. In Europe, we see groups like Vox, in Spain, that are essentially looking for a return of Francoism. Yet, across Europe, support for the EU has reached new heights. So, all of the right-wing nationalist groups, which once talked about leaving the EU, or at least, as a first step, leaving the Eurozone, have ditched that line. Vox does not talk about leaving the EU. Its nationalist rhetoric is focussed on opposing Catalan separatism, but it has also raised the traditional rallying cries of such reactionary forces that appeal to bigotry. It's policies are highly misogynist, opposing abortion, and laws against violence against women, and looking to push women back into the home. 

In Britain, fascistic groups like the NF, the BNP etc., never had much success in trying to rally bigots around those kinds of issues. Indeed, UKIP itself never managed to get its candidates elected as MP's. But, the fascists and ultra nationalists have learned a trick or two. They have learned to pick a populist issue around which it is possible to mobilise a sizeable number of bigots, and to push it for all its worth. Then, you can also mobilise all of those bigots around the other elements of your programme, for which you previously could not get sufficient support. For Vox, the issue is Catalan independence, which they speak about almost to the exclusion of all else. They recognise that it has provoked a nationalist backlash in the rest of Spain, where reactionary nationalists see it as a threat to the unity of the state. In Britain, it has been Brexit, which has mobilised all of the reactionaries and bigots, who see it not as a threat to the integrity of the state – on the contrary, as an almost exclusively English nationalist movement, the Brexiteers seem willing to see the UK break-up, as a consequence of it – but as an affront to their continued nostalgia for the days of Empire, when Britain ruled the waves, and Johnny Foreigner knew his place. 

In Spain, Vox have opposed the work that is being done to uncover the mass graves of those killed by Franco and his regime. Vox are clearly Falangists that dare not speak its name. So, far, like UKIP when it began, they represent only a small minority, yet they are likely to take votes away from Spain's conservative party – The People's Party – and, as with UKIP, that has caused the PP to move right. A similar thing was seen in Sweden. But, all this simply illustrates what I forecast some time ago, which is that the collapse of the political centre means that politics must become more polarised. The idea put forward by some Labour spokespeople that it is necessary to try to unify, to bring the country together is a naïve, and ridiculous fantasy. It is time to choose sides – progress or reaction -  and progress cannot come by trying to appease reactionaries, or by trying to promote the fantasy that some progressive solution can come out of promoting, or appeasing, a reactionary nationalist agenda. 

Currently, the only party setting out a clear progressive agenda, in opposition to the clear reactionary agenda of the BP, is the Liberals. They have said this week, “Stop Brexit”. That is what Labour should be saying. It is what more than 90% of Labour members believe we should be saying, and what more than 75% of Labour voters, nationally, think we should be saying. The only vagueness in the Liberals message is that they still talk about holding another referendum. The Greens, still talk primarily about a People's Vote, rather than coming out with a clear message to “Stop Brexit”, though its clear that is what they want to happen as a result of such a vote. As for the Small Change UK party, they are a busted flush even before they have got started, after their performance last week. They are internally incoherent, even before they might try to hold discussions with other parties, where those inconsistencies would become heightened. Their main concern, at the moment, as witnessed by their commitment not even to vote against the government in a No Confidence vote, is to do whatever is in their power to avoid having to fight elections in their seats, so as to hold on to their current cushy positions. 

But, at least, all of these parties are standing on a platform of opposing Brexit, whether it is stated explicitly, as with the Liberals or not. The same is true with the SNP, and Plaid. Labour with its continued support for Brexit is likely to get hammered, everywhere that a credible anti-Brexit alternative is available, particularly in Scotland, and Wales. The Newport West By-Election showed that is the case. It would have suffered worse if the anti-Brexit parties had formed a joint slate, and there is still a possibility that they could come to alternative arrangements for vote switching, before the elections. Even if they don't, its inevitable that Remain voters will simply look at which Remain candidates, have the clearest anti-Brexit position, and best chance of winning in their constituency, and will throw their votes behind them. By contrast, in other areas, if the Tories make another sharp right turn, Labour will, on the one hand lose votes to anti-Brexit parties, whilst the Tories hoover up the Brexit vote, because, if you are a Leaver, why vote for Labour's confused pro-Brexit stance, rather than Farage's clear Brexit at all costs position, or the Tories, if they make another sharp right turn. Either way, Corbyn's stance is, like the Morning Star, in practice, doing everything required to get Labour voters to vote for some other party! 

By failing to put Labour firmly in the vanguard of the anti-Brexit forces, Corbyn has not only allowed the Liberals, Greens, and the Blair-rights to rise from the grave, but he is facilitating Farage, because he is allowing the political locus to shift decisively to the right. Neither the Liberals nor the Greens nor Blair-rights can provide a progressive, internationalist alternative to the reactionary nationalism being peddled by Farage and the Tory Right. Only international socialists and progressive social-democrats can do that. The nature of the European elections, based on lists, and a form of PR, means that the Remain supporting parties at least will not be as hampered as they would be in a General Election, and its first past the post system. In Scotland and Wales, the nationalist parties that back Remain, are likely to make big gains at Labour's expense. But, in England, without them coming to some kind of joint slate, they will still be under-represented, unless each party gets well into double digit percentage figures. In England that looks like meaning that if you want to back Remain, which every progressive social-democrat, and socialist should, you will have the choice of backing either a Liberal or a Green candidate, unless rank and file Labour members take hold of the situation, and take control away from Corbyn, and the Stalinist cabal. 

The truth is that were Corbyn not leader of the Labour Party, he would probably be echoing a line similar to that being put forward by the Morning Star, even if not following the example of Galloway in calling for a vote for Farage, which would get him expelled. But, by failing to come out against Brexit, by engaging in the class collaborationist talks with May, to try to come up with some kind of deal to get the Withdrawal Deal through parliament, which both require to save their skins, Corbyn is acting to facilitate Farage. For as long as the talks with May go on, continuing the illusion that there is some possibility of her deal getting through parliament, May will cling to office, and Farage will continue to suck away Tory support on his narrative of betrayal. If Corbyn broke off the talks, and came out with a clear message that Labour will oppose Brexit, May's days would be numbered. Either she would have to swing right, or she would be ousted, and someone will replace her who will, and then Farage would be dead in the water. Labour would be able to retrieve all of the votes that are  currently flooding away to the Greens, Liberals, Plaid and SNP. It would put itself at the head of that dynamic movement opposing Brexit, so as to kill off the prospects of the reactionary nationalists. It would put itself in a position to win the next General Election. 

But, time is draining away. At this late stage, its unlikely that Corbyn is going to convincingly change position. The response of those like Ronnie Campbell who find themselves now lining up with Labour right wingers, such as John Mann, Gareth Snell, Ruth Smeeth, Caroline Flint and so on, is indication of that problem. It is a problem that has been accentuated by the failure to push through the democratic reforms for mandatory reselection that would have seen many of these dinosaurs cleared away. Yet again, we see that Corbyn has further postponed the reforms on trigger ballots, in order to appease those right wing elements. 

Its obvious that Corbyn's real hope is that Brexit will go through without Labour having to actually vote for it, so that he can say his hands were clean on the matter. But, that will not be the end of the matter. If Farage's Brexit Party does well in the European Elections, which it could do, if Labour continues its pro-Brexit stance, and if the anti-Brexit parties remain divided, then its clear that May's days are numbered. One way or another, the Tories will swing even more decisively in favour of a hard Brexit. They will be in the position of trying to implement such a reactionary nationalist policy in the interests of that class fraction of around 12-15 million small private capitalists. But, that group in themselves are an heterogeneous bunch, ranging from the bloke with a window cleaning business, to the owner of a back street garage, or sweatshop, to the market trader, or small shop owner, through to the owners of small engineering works, and so on up to those who still own private businesses that have grown in size to be medium sized enterprises, but who have not left behind those old mindsets ingrained in them over decades. 

Such a disparate force, much like the peasantry in the past, has difficulty in arranging itself behind a set of ideas of what it is for, rather than the simpler matter of what it is against. Hence the mantra of “Just Get On With It”, though outside the idea that Brexit means Brexit, they have no real idea of what “it” is. At the lower layers of this class fraction, there is an overlap with those other social layers that back Brexit. The local drug dealer, and petty criminal are merely individualists and entrepreneurs that take their individualism across the line of what is legal, rather than what is simply unethical. A reading of Marx’s “The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte” indicates where such situations lead. 

The Stalinists behind Corbyn argued in Germany in the 1930's that after Hitler it would be their turn. In reality, those that did not jump ship and join the Nazis, found themselves amongst the first put into the concentration camps. The disparate nature of the class fraction, and the other supporters of Brexit, will mean that order will have to imposed from above, by a strong leader. That was the message that the Tories tried to convey in 2017, but May was not the person to implement such a strategy. The attempt to turn the clock back is as futile as the attempt to hold back the tide. Yet, those that set their face to achieving such a task, if they are given the chance will not simply abandon it, at the first obstacle. They will double down on their attempts to push through their agenda, using whatever authoritarian measures are required to do so. 

We can see the outline of that future history. As Brexit inevitably leads to an economic slowdown, the blame will again be thrown on to foreigners. The Tories, who blamed Labour for the global financial crash that was actually caused by the banks and financial institutions, who engaged in reckless gambling and speculation, made possible by the changes brought in by Thatcher and Reagan in the 1980's, have seen how easy it is to do that. This time it will be the fault of the EU that did not “play fair”, by not giving in to the unreasonable demands of the Tories. Trump does the same thing in the US, blaming China for unfair practices, currency manipulation and so on. As economic, political and strategic influence ebbs away from Britain to the much larger, and powerful EU, British antagonism towards it will be ramped up further. In part, that will be because, having told everyone that the EU itself was about to fall apart, the Brextremists will have to cover their tracks, when the opposite turns out to be the case. 

As demands for independence in Scotland increase, the Brextremists will mobilise English nationalists against the Scots. As a majority for a United Ireland becomes ever more likely, in Northern Ireland, the majority against that, which still exists, though it is declining, in the Unionist community, will be ramped up to fever pitch, to oppose Catholic nationalism and popery. In Wales, where the economy is already being hit by the withdrawal of foreign firms, as a result of Brexit, which has caused a reversal of the 2016 position, and a majority now for Remain, there will be a push to counter any drive by the nationalists, by withdrawing devolved powers, and more closely incorporating Wales into rule by Westminster. The same English nationalism is already seeing leading Tories saying they will not allow another Scottish referendum. The Tories and BP can be blasé about the break-up of the UK, now, as a price worth paying for Brexit, but when it comes to rallying bigots around a flag, when things go pear-shaped, they will rush to emphasise their Unionism, just as with Vox in Spain today. The Scots, Welsh, and Irish nationalists will simply be turned into a convenient other, to scapegoat for the problems that Brexit has itself imposed. 

But, of course, they will not be the only ones “othered” in this process. The 30% of the population that are bigots, and who made up the bulk of the Brexit vote, already see “immigrants” as their main concern. Its already the case that 25% of the British public self-identify as holding some “racist” views. Research into those who voted for Brexit shows a high degree of correlation with holding bigoted views on a wide range of other issues from homophobia, misogyny, global warming and so on. As all of the problems mount, its obvious who the Brextremists, then running the government, will throw the blame on to. The NHS collapsing, as funding drains away, and all the foreign staff disappear – blame all the foreigners taking up bed spaces; lack of affordable houses, because rent racketeers are allowed to ride roughshod over tenants, and landowners hold on to land to drive the price up, whilst building costs rise, as foreign building workers go home – blame foreigners for occupying the houses; energy bills high and rising, as the Pound collapses, pushing up the cost of imported oil, gas and electric – blame environmentalists and their wacky policies of wanting to help stop global warming. 

And, as with the situation in Spain, with Vox, as was the case with the Nazis in the 1930's, as unemployment rises, not only will this be blamed on the EU for stealing “our” jobs, and foreigners coming here and taking those jobs, whilst the Daily Mail and Express run stories about them simultaneously living off the dole, but it will be the fault of women, who should know their place, and stay at home to look after the kids and the elderly, as the state no longer can fulfil those functions anyway; it will be blamed on trades unions demanding that wages not be cut, as the economy tanks, and thereby being unpatriotic, in the same way that during the Falkland War, similar talk about an “Enemy Within” was unleashed by the Thatcher government.   When a rail strike occurred, as warships returned from the Falklands, the troops hung banners saying “Call off the rail strike, or we’ll call an air strike!”, and a subsequent rallying of nationalist sentiment was used when the 1984 Miners Strike began.

Corbyn, by failing to take a clear stand against Brexit, is making all of that more likely, because his silence acts to facilitate Farage, and all of the reactionary forces he represents. Those forces can never actually succeed in turning the clock back. But, the chaos they would unleash in trying to do so would impose a severe setback on workers in Britain, and for the cause of socialism. In the end, all of that nostalgia for 18th and early 19th century free market capitalism that motivates the Libertarians like Rees-Mogg will fail, because the global economy, the EU economy, and the British economy is necessarily dominated by large-scale, socialised, industrial capital. It will prevail. In the end, to save the economy, and save the state, the Libertarian elements would have to suffer their own “Night of the Long Knives”, as more ruthless, strong state, Bonapartists took control, to restore order, as happened with Louis Bonaparte in France. But, that large-scale, socialised industrial capital itself cannot operate effectively within the confines of the small British nation state. It would ultimately have to find its way back to the EU, but would then do so, on much less favourable terms than Britain currently enjoys. 

Any hope that Corbyn and his Stalinist advisors have of Brexit opening up the possibility of building socialism, or even social-democracy in one country, are forlorn, and themselves reactionary. But, the more likely result is that Britain would be plunged into a period of reaction, and chaos, which far from bringing about “unity” would simply create even more bitter divisions, and social conflict. But, it is in any case a reactionary delusion that would inevitably end in failure, having gone through all of this turmoil. It would, in the end, turn out to have been just a temporary, backwater, in the course of the tide of history.