The other source of that petty-bourgeois nationalism, in the labour movement, was the specific interests of the ruling bureaucratic caste in the USSR, which sought, for its own global strategic reasons, to inhibit the development of the EU, as a large imperialist challenger on its borders, a factor that continues to influence the policies of the present right-wing, capitalist regime of Putin, today. The various Stalinist parties across the globe acted as, simply, adjuncts of the interests of the Stalinist ruling caste in Russia, and those, still influential, Stalinist parties, in the post-war period, spread their petty-bourgeois, nationalistic poison into the rest of the labour movement, via their periphery in the Left of the social-democratic parties, and trades unions.
Britain, again, epitomised that. Up until the 1970's, nearly all of the groups to the Left of the Communist Party, adopted the position described above of “In Or Out The Fight Goes On”. In other words, they rejected the reactionary nationalist idea that the problems of workers could be resolved by choosing “British” capitalism, over “EU” capitalism. Most had a position of abstaining, but, as Marx and Engels' arguments, above, show, they should, really, have had a position of critical support for joining the EEC. But, during the 1960's period of long wave boom, as workers' position strengthened, and their industrial and political organisations were rebuilt, some of those groups saw a significant increase in membership, amongst the more advanced sections of workers.
But, now, they were in competition with an entrenched Communist Party, which retained significant strength in the trades union movement, and, via its fellow travellers, inside the Labour Left. As the battle lines were drawn over the EEC referendum, in 1975, with the CP, and the Labour Left lined up on one side, whilst the Tories and the Labour Right were lined up on the other, those Left groups succumbed to opportunism, as they sought to stay in line with that “Left” nationalist public opinion, in order not to lose out in competition for the industrial militants they had so recently appealed to. (It was another example of “My enemy's enemy is my friend”, by which they allowed their own politics to be determined by their opponents, as described by Trotsky in “Learn To Think”). They adopted a reactionary nationalist stance of opposing EEC membership, not only alongside the likes of Benn, but also alongside the likes of Enoch Powell, and the National Front. These latter, represented the interests of the petty-bourgeoisie, which, at the time, was being typically squeezed between the power of big, multinational capital on one side, and an increasingly assertive organised working-class, on the other.
That working-class, in fact, as the actual vote showed, was not swayed by the arguments of the reactionary nationalists, even those that cloaked their arguments in left-wing verbiage. The 2:1 vote in favour of staying in the EEC, meant that workers, overwhelmingly, voted for it, and the organised working-class has continued to support that position ever since. Indeed, it illustrates why Starmer's tailist. opportunist collapse into Brexit jingoism is so idiotic.
In 2016, 70% of Labour's 2017 voters, voted for Remain. Around 60% of its 2015, voters did so. The difference reflected the fact that Corbyn's Labour won over vast swathes of new working-class voters, from the Liberals and Greens, in 2017, as it, alone, offered the chance to form a government that could stop Brexit. Even in the so called “red wall” constituencies, more than 60% of Labour's 2017 voters, voted for Remain in 2016.
The overall vote for Leave, in those constituencies, was not, as the Stalinists would have it, due to workers voting for Leave, but of a slightly smaller majority of them voting for Remain, combined with the ability of the nationalists to mobilise the votes of the petty-bourgeoisie, and backward, often marginalised, groups of workers, and ex-workers. When Corbyn adopted his old anti-EU stance, in Spring 2019, Labour's vote collapsed, with 60%, even, of Labour members voting for other, pro-EU parties.
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