Brexit: May Narrowly Survives No-Confidence Vote in the Tory Party
Reject All Immigration Controls – No to Racism and Chauvinism!
Article by Joseph Adams, RCIT Britain, 03.01.2019, www.thecommunists.net
Brexit is tearing both the Tory Party and the Labour Party apart. A no deal Brexit agreement is still on the cards. There are divisions in both parties which could lead to splits. Theresa May barely survived a no confidence in her own party over her plans for Brexit which are now in tatters. She agreed that she would not stand as leader in the event of a General Election.
“Theresa May has won a confidence vote in her leadership of the Tory party by 200 to 117. A majority of Conservative MPs backed her in a secret ballot after the prime minister signaled she would step down before the 2022 election”. [1]
May and the leadership of the Tory party remain jittery about the prospect of a no deal Brexit agreement. She has called for the use of troops to ensure essential supplies across the channel in the event of a no deal Brexit agreement.
“Emergency no-deal Brexit contingency plans must now be implemented across government, cabinet ministers have agreed, including reserving ferry space for supplies and putting 3,500 armed forces personnel on standby to deal with any disruption”. [2]
May’s refusal to bring her Brexit plans to Parliament because she knows she will be defeated shows the weak position she is in. The DUP her partners in government are opposed to May’s botched plan over Brexit which means on three occasions May has lost a vote over Brexit. She intends to bring her final plans to parliament on January 14th, despite the fact that she has lost votes over Brexit. However, May still remains as Prime Minister and refuses to resign.
Chauvinist Hysteria against Refugees
Recent developments have demonstrated the crisis of this Government. Many migrants and refugees from France have been hiring small boats to cross the channel to enter Britain before March 29th – the deadline for Brexit. There has been a campaign of hysteria in the capitalist media stoking flames of hatred and racism against migrants and refugees who are trying to enter Britain on these small crafts. This fear is to whip up divisions and split the working class.
“The home secretary, Sajid Javid, and his French counterpart have pledged to step up joint efforts to tackle cross-Channel people smuggling, as Labour accused the Conservatives of whipping up concern about the issue. On Monday, a group of 12 people, including a 10-year-old child, were being interviewed by immigration officials after they came ashore near Lydd-on-Sea, Kent. A Home Office spokesman said: “Border Force was contacted by Kent police at around 8.25am. Border Force officers were deployed to assist with a group of 12 migrants at Greatstone, Kent”. [3]
Labour, Corbyn and the Blairites
Jeremy Corbyn, the left wing leader of the Labour party, faces down his own inner-party opponents of the right wing Blairite faction who are opposed to his position on Brexit and want a second referendum to overturn Brexit. The Labour Party at its Conference in 2018 resolved to push for a general election.
But the Blairites led by Chukka Umunna are desperate to prevent a General Election because they fear the election of a Corbyn led government and will do anything to derail Corbyn,s plans. In fact the Blairites are the biggest supporters of British capitalism and as long as a second referendum is agreed by the government they will support the Tories. Umunna has been working for an alliance between pro-European Tories, Liberal Democrats and the SNP in a campaign for a second referendum to undermine Corbyn’s leadership.
However, Corbyn still retains massive support amongst rank and file Labour party supporters who are opposed to the right wing inside the Labour Party. The Blairites have shown again and again that they are pro-capitalists and have nothing in common with ordinary working class members in the Labour party. The Blairites are desperate to remove Corbyn and split the party. If the Blairite MP’s do not accept the democratically elected Leadership of the Party they should be deselected, purged and expelled from the Party.
Corbyn has stated his position on Brexit which is to work for a Customs Union. He accepts that many of his supporters in Leave constituencies support Brexit, but his main aim is to force a general election and force the hated Tory Government out of office.
“Jeremy Corbyn has defiantly restated Labour’s policy of leading Britain out of the European Union with a refashioned Brexit deal, shrugging off intense pressure from Labour MPs and activists for the party to throw its weight behind a second referendum. The Labour leader insisted that even if his party won a snap general election in the new year, he would seek to go to Brussels and try to secure a better deal – if possible, in time to allow Brexit to go ahead on 29 March” [4]
For Working Class Internationalism! Against both British and EU Imperialism!
The RCIT Britain has stated their position on Brexit many times:
“The RCIT Britain and its supporters advocated an abstention vote at the 2016 Referendum. We reiterate our position that neither imperialist option – imperialist Britain outside or inside the imperialist EU – is a solution for the workers and oppressed. The key task for Marxists is to help the workers vanguard taking an independent class position. Hence the RCIT steadfastly defends the orthodox Marxist position (...) to reject support either for the imperialist EU or for the imperialist nation-state. We stand for an independent position of the working class and, therefore, refuse to support both the pro-EU faction and the anti-EU faction of the imperialist bourgeoisie.” [5]
The dramatic events around Brexit are a reflection of massive political crisis in all imperialist nations, Britain is no exception. A period of crisis opens up for the bourgeoisie in every country. The failure of the ruling class to resolve these contradictions has led to revolutionary developments around the world. In France the “Yellow vests” protest movement has shown the fragile nature of the bourgeois rule in France. The emergence of a mass movement similar to the Yellow vests movement is what the bourgeoisie fear could happen in Britain.
The RCIT Britain continues to oppose both reactionary options – an imperialist Britain ruled by the capitalist oligarchy inside or outside the EU. The working class must not allow itself being used by neither the pro-EU nor by the pro-nationalist factions of the bourgeoisie. In contrast, it must advocate a position of revolutionary defeatism, i.e. consistent opposition against all bourgeois factions and their imperialist plans! It must advocate international solidarity and support the right of migrants to come to Britain. It must orientate to joint struggles with protest movements of workers and oppressed in other countries – like e.g. the “Yellow vests” in France.
We put forward the following demands to unite the working class in a struggle against imperialist war, racism, chauvinism, poverty and austerity.
* For Open Borders! Migrants and refugees coming to Britain should have free movement! Reject immigration controls! No to Racism and Islamophobia!
* Campaign in the Trade Unions and the working class movement to have all arrested migrants freed and released!
* For self-defense guards to protect migrants and refugees from fascist or police provocation!
* For an indefinite general strike to unite the working class and oppressed to overthrow this hated reactionary Tory Government! For a Workers Revolutionary Government!
* Reject both imperialist camps - Remain and Brexit!
* Build a new Revolutionary World Party as a weapon to unite all workers and the oppressed to overthrow imperialism globally!
Footnotes
1) https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2018/dec/12/tory-mps-trigger-vote-of-no-confidence-in-may-amid-brexit-uncertainty-politics-live?page=with:block-5c117699e4b025637fe94420
4) https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/21/jeremy-corbyn-labour-policy-leaving-eu
5) https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/europe/britain-no-deal-brexit-is-imminent/