London says #Lexit: The Left Case Against the EU - Tariq Ali

dear friends won't repeat what has been said just wanted to make three basic points one is that we have to be aware of course that a large majority of young people have not been convinced by the arguments to leave for a variety of reasons can't go into them now I debate argue discuss with them in in different different ways different parts of the country but there is a general feeling amongst young people that somehow to be in the EU of itself without taking anything else into consideration is progressive and that being out is to become very narrow-minded very restrained and of course what they largely see on the television screens is Michael Gove and Boris Johnson and this whole gang coming up with outrageous stuff so it's been very difficult winning young people over at least or at least trying to neutralize them very painful actually because normally they are very eager to discuss to debate etc so we have to recognize this and I think many of them will not vote for a variety of reasons but they are very nervous and unhappy about this campaign one reason for this is that despite all the talk of the Euro file media television and the newspapers who completely uncritical off for Europe is that while they are completely uncritical now if you look at their record over the last year's decades the coverage of Europe in these papers is appalling either of the European ruling class or of the European working class or of the European popular and social movements hardly any serious reporting by these euro file newspapers of what is going on in Europe now our comrade from the cjt describe what is happening in France we see it on alternative bulletins on the web a huge struggle by the French working-class against the new laws being imposed what is the reporting and coverage of this and people who are very Pro Europe nin hardly anything you saw demonstration of thirty or forty thousand people yesterday or day before in Germany outside an American military base protesting against the use of that base to launch drone attacks in different parts of the world coverage of that in most of the press especially the Euro file press but in general hardly anything discussion of what is going on in Portugal and Ireland massive migration emigration of young people who can't find jobs either in their countries or in Europe and are shifting continents again hardly anything so why don't they tell us what's happening in Europe under this paradise that they describe as the European Union and which if Britain were to leave would suddenly create chaos discontent right-wing parties would come to power as if they are not already marching forward in different parts of Europe who do we have to thank for that it's not brexit or britain leaving the EU it's the actual functioning of the EU which is not simply an anti-democratic organization it is spreading anti-democratic currents in every single country in Europe I mean the very fact that the EU s current boss is jean-claude Juncker a total charlatan and crook who was involved in numerous scams in the tiny Duchy of Luxembourg which is where people went to avoid paying taxes not mentioned too much huge scandals amongst the French politically elite with it being released at Sarkozy who decided to make war on Libya to get rid of Gaddafi was actually on Gaddafi's payroll and taking money from Gaddafi to help win the elections mentioned in the French press hardly ever discussed elsewhere and we have to say that it's many of us on the Left many of us who are opposed to the you are opposed precisely because we follow what is happening in Europe as a whole not just in Britain and this EU is not simply bad for democracy in Britain it is bad for democracy in Europe it is hollowing out this democracy the way it is functioning it's destroying it it wants to take power away from the trade unions and some of the union's who collaborate with it whether it's the tea you see in this country of the CFDA in France which has been playing in a polling role in the strike waves and pleading with the government not to make any concessions to this ajt that is what is going on Europe is in a complete crisis a social economic cultural crisis and who is going to deal with it another EU is possible what other EU all these people who go on from the left since the left - is divided on this their only argument is yes there are lots of problems with the present EU but wait till Jeremy wins or wait till X happens and then we'll go and they'll be you know the thing is Jeremy might not win if we don't come out and even if Jeremy were to win and and implement even two or three planks from his program they are not permitted to do so by EU rules and regulations nationalized the railways they're trying to divide the railway system as the comrade from France described in France and in Germany and elsewhere and they're going to sit back and say ok you can take the railways back in cuckoo-land to imagine that this is what is going to happen somehow I was debating Caroline Lucas as Jane mentioned the other day Europe is green green with folks wagons scandals on emissions court and Bureau of suppose before the public I probably buy their car rivals big rival car companies in the United States I mean they all operate like this they don't care a damn about the environment or anything else effectively it is the struggle for profits that has determined what capitalism does is doing and that is all that matters which is why the struggle against the European Union within Europe there are other struggles outside Europe is critically important all the talk of a social Europe the tea you'll see I remember it well standing to its feet during the Thatcher era and singing before their shuttle or the Social Democratic chairman at the time in charge of the EU and showing their love for him by singing frère chakra which shocked him he didn't know why they were singing the song as well he might have been but saying desperate we are being crushed by Thatcher help us and of course they took advantage of this but help there came none and this is an absurd fast going on which is indicating that all the rights wants social rights and political rights and economic rights won by class in labor struggles and women struggles in this country all a gift of the EU for God's sake it didn't even exist for most of this period now what are the advantages of leaving the EU for Britain it's not that the Britain will somehow suddenly get better no that has to be fought for but you create the basis for improving it by electing a government which promises to support many of the demands which people want they want nationalization of the railways they want many of the utilities taken back it's a long struggle privatisation was not fought against by the British trade union movement after the defeat of the miners strike that's a fact whereas trade unions and non trade unionists in countries like Peru and Bolivia through mass popular struggles prevented the privatization of electricity in the villages in Peru fought for and won back the nationalization of water in large cities in Bolivia something that unorganized not that politicized in the normal sense of the word people managed to do could not be done by the trade union movement in this country and then it capitulated effectively to Blair and Mandelson and that gang who have little in common with anything the labor movement stands for tight tight and that is one of the problems and let's mention it that one of the problems Jeremy confronts I agree with what the comrade from the RMT's said they should have come out and opposed this nonsense said it's a free vote it can be a free vote and bombing Syria why not a free vote on getting out of the EU so they should have done that but one reason is that the party is the Labour Party let's have no illusions is backed with their rights half of them were desperate to be fighting together with Cameron against the evil hordes who want us to come out of the EU that's the scale of the problem that's what the attacks are coming from and Lindsey was absolutely right whatever happens on the day of the referendum in or out we will not have an easy time of it we will have to fight we will have to organize we will have to try and unite the left as best we can with the best most militant sections of the labour movement because this is what they did in Scotland they lost the referendum but there were mass mobilizations immediately afterwards tens of thousands of people our level of mobilization in this referendum has not been what the Scottish mobilization was but mobilize we will have to do whatever happens if we are to move forward in this country thank you

Channel: SWP TV

Views: 11,949

Rating: 4.830986 out of 5

Keywords: Lexit, EU, European Union, EU Referendum, Left Leave Campaign, Brexit

Id: Y9MRwXjSYW4

Length: 12min 13sec (733 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 13 2016