Posted in Europe

Good lesson by John Redwood for Lord Mandelson on effective opposition

John RedwoodEvery so often, a Tory politician exposes the hypocrisy of a Blairite far more effectively than we could. Such is the case in John Redwood’s very effective critique of Lord Mandelson today for wanting “Corbyn to  be more Blair like to justify his  support and recommendation. The first is the UK’s willingness to undertake  military action in the Middle East against regimes or Islamic groupings it dislikes. The second is the UK’s requirement to accept any new law, regulation or treaty amendment from the EU that the EU institutions and other member states may propose.”

Though I am more sympathetic to the first of those than the second (being just about on the anti-withdrawal side of the EU fence), his argument is really rather good:

Lord Mandelson was always keen to require iron discipline in New Labour when he was one of the small clique in charge. Today he is now an enthusiast for rebellion, urging modern Labour MPs to disagree with their Leader and to remain true to the  flexible pro European and pro military intervention stances  of Blairism. This sad volte face is not surprising. Lord Mandelson would argue that an MP only owes loyalty to his party and its Leader when they are “doing the right thing”. The problems with that proposition are twofold. The first is who gets to decide what is the right thing? The second is, can it ever be the right thing in a democracy to seek to prevent the official opposition opposing for good reason?

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On Jeremy Corbyn, “shoot to kill” and stopping terrorists in the act of murder

Jeremy Corbyn, in the cross hairsYou can understand the thirst for vengeance. On Sunday night, France flew sorties over Syria to strike IS targets in Raqqa, the capital of their ramshackle semi-state. They reportedly hit a recruitment centre and munitions depot. Other facilities on the receiving end of French ordinance were a hospital, a museum, a stadium, and a chicken farm. Still, “something” has been done. IS have had a taste of fire, even if civilians every bit as innocent as the murdered in Paris lost their lives in the French bombing.

Whenever there is an appalling outrage on Western soil, or mass civilian casualties mount overseas, as per the Tunisian beach murders or the bombing of a Russian airliner, politicians and media outlets combine their outrage with simple non-solutions that paint one half of the world in saintly white and the other in sinner’s black. The complexity of the situation, of the drives that fuel IS support here and abroad, which few establishment figures are normally interested in anyway, are painted out. They’re against us, so let’s kill ’em. Alas, turning Raqqa and parts of Sinai and Yemen into the Moon will kill terrorists, but does nothing to address the causes of terrorism. Such is the folly of dressing ourselves in saintly white as against their sinner’s black. Continue reading →

The EU referendum and the pro-EU left

reddish Euro flagThe GMB resolution at the Labour Party conference stressed defending employment and social rights and not aligning with the Tories, and was a welcome starting point for what should now be a major issue for Labour’s left, namely determining that Labour’s campaign is distinctively left wing and not indistinguishable from the general In campaign.

The Labour No campaign (Labour for Britain) got off to an unfortunate start when it was discovered that it was using the same website as Business for Britain, a right wing campaign. How it will develop remains to be seen, but it is I think reasonable to assume that many of the anti EU but pro-Corbyn left will not choose to be active campaigners on the grounds of not wanting to demonstrate division on an issue where the party is, formally, united. The NO2EU campaign always supported by Bob Crow will presumably once again provide a focus for the anti EU left. Continue reading →

In or out – Labour’s voice must be heard on Europe

EU migrationReferendums can be defining moments in a country’s political culture, as the Scottish Independence referendum showed. They offer a unique opportunity for a national debate on a single issue. There is no escaping the fact that the referendum on EU membership could have huge implications on the political landscape of the UK. It is, therefore, vital that the Labour Party leads the debate and ensures that the issues of social justice, democracy, workers’ rights and TTIP are at the centre of the debate.

Unsurprisingly, Labour has committed to campaigning to remain in the EU. A majority of Labour members clearly seem to support continued EU membership, and most polling has shown that the “remain” campaign has a small but steady lead in the UK as a whole.

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EU membership means no renationalisation

A Fractured EuropePublic ownership of gas and electricity is destined to become a cherished aim of the Labour Party. For years under privatisation, the swindling of the consumer has gone hand-in-hand with outrageous profit-taking by the corporate giants, to the loss of the public purse. Far from helping customers through keen competition, the main effect of energy privatisation has been – like austerity – a redistribution of wealth from the have-nots to the well-to-do.

What a pity, therefore, that Labour cannot renationalise it! Britain is a member of the European Union (EU)  and as such bound by the EU Treaties. Indeed, every British court is duty-bound to enforce every EU law in preference to any conflicting British statute. Under Article 106, the EU prohibits public monopolies exercising exclusive rights where this violates EU competition rules. The EU’s Court of Justice has interpreted Article 106 as giving private companies the right to argue before the national courts that services should continue to be open to private-sector competition. Nationalised services are prima facie suspect and must be analysed by the judiciary for their “necessity”. Thus the EU has given companies a legal right to run to court to scupper programmes of public ownership. Continue reading →