Believing in the “strength of our common endeavour” means we must stay in the EU

Terry Maher and Viv Pointon

The Tories keep kicking the EU withdrawal bill into the long grass and Theresa May apparently begs European leaders to help her engineer Brexit. Business men and women plead for more clarity and assurance on a transition period. The Tory European research group pushes for a hard and devastating Brexit. The clock is ticking and no-one is really any the wiser about where Britain is headed.

We say it is time to return to our values, aims and principles and oppose the shambles Brexit has inevitably become.

We formed Labour Against Brexit (LAB) in January in the belief that we are safer, stronger and better off inside the EU. Our campaign has gone from strength to strength, growing to 16,000 people across our social media platforms. We have proudly raised our flags at rallies in London and Manchester and held very positive pro-EU fringe events in Brighton.

Our organisation firmly believes that “by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone”. Like the overwhelming majority in our party, we are convinced that this cornerstone of our being means that Britain should remain inside the EU.

Labour embodies our beliefs, values and aims for British society. We believe the Labour constitution shows us how we should respond to Brexit. Our party should “bring together members and supporters who share its values” to develop policy. On Europe so far, this has not happened. As a democratic socialist party, our CLPs and conference are where we should be debating the most important issue in a generation. Yet we feel the Labour approach to Brexit has been top down and not bottom up, surely something that must change for the sake of party democracy.

The past 16 months have been stressful for Labour members and supporters. It seems that, as a nation, we no longer “live together freely, in a spirit of solidarity, tolerance and respect”. Of course, after seven years of cruel Tory austerity many of our communities have felt this breakdown keenly and this was, in our view, a key determinant in the vote to Leave.

The Vote Leave campaign of deceit sought to amplify that resentment and disillusionment. Labour Against Brexit believes that community spirit is weakened further by leaving the EU and the additional austerity it will bring; leaving the EU will exacerbate problems in our communities, not solve them. So we believe we should challenge Brexit with all our might.

One reason for Labour’s current position is immigration; some people are terrified of lost votes in Leave areas if we accept EU rules on free movement. We believe our Labour values should give us the strength to take this head on. We are a party for all the people and we should have the courage of our convictions to stand for all of the people, wherever their origin. We should stand by our European friends with pride and we commend Labour for Free Movement who champion our Labour beliefs on this site.

We believe in a dynamic economy in which both public and private enterprise can flourish and are accountable to the people. The Labour Party manifesto inspired and brought hope to many who felt ripped off or let down by an economy balanced towards the few, and it sought redress this in the form of investment, nationalisation of utilities and redistribution of wealth.

But all serious economic forecasts say our manifesto is undeliverable outside permanent membership of the single market and the customs union, as has been highlighted by the Labour Campaign for the Single Market.

Outside the EU we will not be able to “produce the wealth the nation needs”. We understand that Labour’s emphasis is on jobs and that it is quite distinct from a Tory vision stuck somewhere between the Victorian Age and the 1950s, but we believe it is not enough. It is simply not possible to achieve the “exact same benefits” from the outside. The EU will not allow the single market to unravel in our absence, as they keep reminding us “on the other side of the Channel”.

There is no mandate to make the country poorer – nor sadly is there an understanding of the limits and alternatives available to us inside the EU immigration system, which would ease people’s concerns. We believe a just society is best achieved inside the EU. Many Tory Leavers rub their hands in glee at the prospect of a bonfire of regulations, and in slashing consumer, worker and environmental protections. The repeal bill lays bare the Tory view of the open democracy we seek; they want unprecedented powers without accountability.

Whilst there are many brilliant efforts inside Labour to overcome their power grab, outside the EU all we can do is put a timer on their individualistic ambitions. The Tories want the opportunity to wield their vision of society without protection. The EU guarantees us these protections in perpetuity.

We cannot trust the Tories to ensure social and environmental protections for future generations outside the EU. The pressure to buddy up with Trump would see our environmental and worker protections waved away in order to achieve a trade deal with the “America First” president.

So we should hold to the Labour Party constitution in co-operating with the European institutions from within the union. Then we can work “to secure peace, freedom, democracy, economic security and environmental protections for all “.

Outside the EU, Britain becomes a rule-taker instead of rule-maker. We will not be at the table when decisions are made, our influence will be surely diminished and our voice less instrumental. Leaving the EU means our Labour values will barely be heard on the world’s stage.

The worst option, apparently favoured by the most extreme Tory backbenchers, would be to Brexit without a deal. Only one country trades solely under WTO rules, Mauritania in west Africa, a country largely dependent on raw material exports. The larger share of Britain’s income comes from services not covered by WTO rules. A no-deal Brexit cannot be an option. Any Brexit can only make us poorer.

We do not believe that leaving the EU is inevitable. We are safer, stronger and better off inside. We should fight for our beliefs. Labour Against Brexit seeks to change Labour Party policy; we believe the country’s interests are best served by remaining in the EU.

If you share our view then join the campaign of Labour people fighting to remain inside the EU.

Viv Pointon is a retired geography teacher.

Terry Maher is a lifelong Labour supporter and longstanding party member.