The incoherent arguments put forwards by Lexit supporters offer no route to radical reforms and lead away from socialism.

THE starting point for any socialist looking to determine their stance on Brexit is to ascertain whether it is in the interests of the working class. All other considerations – electoral impact, the finality or otherwise of any given referendum outcome, the attitude to Brexit of the big capitalists or Chukka Umunna – are all […]

ANOTHER poll published yesterday by YouGov reveals that the overwhelming majority of Labour members (86%) support a referendum once negotiations are complete. This has prompted the predictable objection: “It’s a rigged/inaccurate poll” We know that pollsters got it wrong in 2017 and massively underestimated Jeremy Corbyn’s support, but YouGov were one of the only pollsters […]

Recently, during a discussion about the recent poll showing majority support for a referendum on the final Brexit deal among members of the three biggest trade unions, I was met with a familiar but infuriating argument. “Don’t you understand the huge growth the far right will gain from a Labour-led new referendum?” we were asked. […]

By Simon Hannah  THE FIGHT over whether to leave the European Union is increasing in tempo. Hundreds of thousands marched in central London on 23 June (venomously described by some as “liberals”, “Blairites”, “croissant eating intellectuals” and so on) while sections of the left in Labour have swung to being militant Lexiteers. There is a […]

By Peter Main  THIS MONTH sees the second anniversary of the “Brexit Referendum” and, a few days later, the opening of a crucial EU summit on 28 June. Until now, it has been possible for Theresa May to hold her party together by publicly echoing the rhetoric of the “hard Brexiteers” whilst, in the actual […]

Learning the hard way

It's not undemocratic to oppose Brexit

DONALD TRUMP’S first trip abroad as President saw him launch radical changes in US foreign policy from those pursued by his predecessor

The Brexit victory, in the June 23, 2016 referendum, created shock waves not only in Europe but right around the world. Donald Trump credited his victory in part to it, winning on a similar programme of breaking free from multilateral trading blocks, increasing rivalry with other great powers and victimising  migrant workers. In Britain, thanks […]

A number of factors have contributed to the rise of right wing populism in Europe and, indeed, in other countries around the world. The tap root of these developments lies in neoliberal globalisation and the reaction to it, especially after the great recession of 2008-2011 and the depressed growth rates, and even stagnation, in the […]

The “Referendum campaign” has been dominated by the public rows between the two wings of the Tory Party. But there are also those on the left advocating exit. This article makes the case for socialist internationalism By Dave Stockton The divisions amongst the Tories are rooted in the different interests of different sections of British capital, […]

THE nationalist left outside the SNP are campaigning for another independence referendum as soon as possible, but the SNP has said it will not call another one unless it is 100 per cent sure of winning. However, Nicola Sturgeon has indicated that if Britain votes to leave the European Union in the June referendum and […]

DAVID CAMERON returned from the European Summit in Brussels in February with a deal he claimed would ensure Britain’s continued membership of the European Union. He speedily announced a date for the referendum on 23 June. The wording of the referendum is: “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union?” It contains […]

No to racism & xenophobia Defend workers’ rights Vote to ‘Remain in the EU’ ‘National independence’ is a retreat from class unity and internationalism THEY’RE OFF. The EU referendum and May elections have triggered a storm of propaganda that will fill the tabloids and news bulletins with an unparalleled torrent of racist lies and distortions, as the […]

THE referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union, EU, is now likely to take place no later than the Autumn. David Cameron was forced to promise a referendum in his election manifesto under pressure from UKIP. Now he wants to get it out of the way as quickly as possible because he knows a […]

“ELECTIONS change nothing,” said Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany’s finance minister. He was responding to the election of Syriza in January. Syriza owed their victory to their pledge to put a stop to austerity which had inflicted five years of grinding poverty on Greece. Six months later Schäuble was triumphant; Syriza’s leader Alexis Tsipras capitulated in the […]

IN PORTUGAL’S recent elections, the people voted to chuck out a European Union backed pro-austerity government. The governing coalition between the liberal Portuguese Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the conservative People’s Party (CDS-PP) won only 102 seats out of 230. By contrast, the anti-austerity left did well. The Socialist Party (PS) won 32.3 per cent […]

Monday 6 July, 2015 By KD Tait   No to blackmail. No to humiliation. No to austerity. The determination of the Greek workers and youth to end austerity has been expressed in a defiant rejection of the Troika’s ultimatum. Today, Syriza has an overwhelming second mandate to carry out its promise to break with austerity, […]

29 June, 2015 All eyes are on Greece as its citizens prepare to vote in a referendum on the Troika austerity ‘offer’ that will dramatically shape the course of the wider European resistance to austerity. The consequences of rejection – No – should not be underestimated and cannot be entirely predicted. Nevertheless it is right […]

Political Committee, 21 June 2015 1. Britain will hold a referendum on whether to stay in or leave the European Union by the end of 2017.  For revolutionary socialists the task of the day is to create a campaign of effective opposition to the racist and chauvinist No campaigners but equally to the pro-capitalist/neoliberal Yes […]