Brexit and the Crisis of the Left
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- Published on Thursday, 13 October 2016 09:15
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1315 .... October 13, 2016
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Brexit and the Crisis of the Left
Asbjørn Wahl
The British majority in favour of leaving the EU (Brexit) was surprising, even shocking, to many. The discussion runs high on both the result and the causes. The confusion seems to be extraordinarily high on the left, in Britain as in the rest of Europe. In reality, the result of the referendum reflects an EU in existential crisis, while the discussion reflects a Left in deep political and ideological crisis.
Seen from a left position, the British campaign was of course not without problems. The Brexit campaign was dominated by forces on the political right, and anti-immigration, xenophobia and racism were at the centre, although it was not as dominant as many media reported. National... self-determination was reported as the main reason for the majority's support of Brexit. And there was also a left organized Brexit movement, even though it was not very strong.
What is clear, is that large sections of the British working-class voted for Brexit. Xenophobia was an important part of this picture, no doubt. First and foremost, however, it must be seen as a reaction to a policy that systematically and with few exceptions has undermined wages and working conditions, trade union and social rights for workers. This is the result both of EU policies and of the aggressive neoliberal policies that have been conducted by British governments. Workers’ massive support for Brexit was therefore more than anything a protest against ‘the Establishment’. Those who had lost most as a result of the neoliberal policies, gave the elite a slap in the face.
