Tuesday 23 October 2018

Unfortunately Corbynists were missing on Saturday and, Blarites were there .

I have just been reading the Blog Left Foot in the Mouth Left Foot Forward on which has 

Five thoughts on Saturday’s massive march for a People’s Vote.

It's rather disappointing the writer Josiah Mortimer seems to be confused

1. This wasn’t about a People’s Vote
I spoke to nearly a dozen protesters on the day. Surprisingly, nearly all of them said they didn’t think a ‘People’s Vote’ was now possible – either there wasn’t enough time, or ‘it’s not going to happen’ regardless.
Instead, this was a show of force for pro-Europeans. One marcher, Will, told me he was there to ‘change the terms of the Brexit debate’. Another, Paolo, said it was because the EU was ‘part of [his] identity’. Most others I spoke to were there to show that public opinion is shifting – and to make Theresa May listen to their concerns amid hard-right lobbying.
I suspect many who marched on Saturday had taken part in demonstrations in the past, Stop the War, for example and there ma have been a fair smattering of CND veterans, in which few taking part would have expected to achieve their desires. The major difference  seems to be the absence of leaders of the Labour "Left"

2. This could be a turning point

Despite that, the sheer scale of the march suggests this is a movement which has galvanised a broad swathe of people. It feels the Brexit debate has moved on: from what was previously a conversation about hard vs soft Brexit – to now being about hard Brexit vs stopping Brexit altogether.Labour’s ‘tests’ on what circumstances would mean they’d vote for Theresa May’s Brexit deal no longer seem pertinent (the party are likely to vote down her deal regardless).The real question is ‘what’s next’ if May’s deal is rejected. That puts the arguments of the People’s Vote campaign at the foreground.
So it was about a Peoples Vote! The question is who was it aimed at the Tory Government or the lLabour opposition.

3. “Where’s Jeremy Corbyn?”

There was radio silence from the Labour frontbench regarding Saturday’s march. This is tactically wise within the confines of Labour’s current position. Of course Jeremy was not going to back the demonstration – moving straight to a People’s Vote is contrary to Labour’s policy. And endorsing it risks alienating large sections of the Labour vote.The current fudge is proving a tactical necessity. As Best for Britain chief Eloise Todd told me last week, ‘the job of any opposition is to want to have an election’ over another referendum. That makes it totally understandable that frontbenchers were tight-lipped on the day of the demo.
This is utter rubbish the job of the opposition is to scrutinise the government highlight their  an alternative and try and change polcies between . If this leads to the opportunity to bring the government down then they should take it, but if the goverment have a substantial majority then they must work in that enviroment.

4. Where were the anti-Brexit Corbynistas?

The pertinent question for the left isn’t ‘where was Corbyn’ – but why there were no Corbyn supporters speaking on the day.
There were plenty of placards from Another Europe is Possible – the left-wing campaign against Brexit. Yet the main stage was fairly devoid of ‘true’ left-wingers other than Caroline Lucas. While Sadiq Khan is respected among progressives, the London Mayor’s past anti-Corbyn statements means he will fail to sway much of the party’s grassroots.
One senior anti-Brexit Corbyn supporter told me it was a ‘grey area’ as to whether Corbynistas were invited to speak. Whatever the case, if the People’s Vote want to sway the leadership, they’ll have to sway the unions and party grassroots. That means ramping up the profile of anti-Brexit socialists.
While there were plenty of popular celebrities featured at the demo – from Delia Smith to Gary Lineker – the prominence of figures like Chuka Umunna (who recently disgruntled Corbyn-supporters by calling Labour ‘institutionally racist’), as well as New Labour dons like Alistair Campbell, might not be doing the movement favours.
Some Corbynists  and Lexiters (Left wing supporters of Corbyn)  have  attacked the marchers and speakers  for containing Blarites , they seem to forget , that this march was not about Labour unity but consisted of members of other parties , including a highlight video contribution of Scotland's First Minister.Nicola Sturgeon. I would respect Corbyn and Lexiters in his party more if they said they backed a Hard Brexit. Instead they seem content to let the Tories get on with the potential catastrophe they are making in the hope that a socialist utopia will rise from the ashes.

Many like myself are uncomfortable with ticking "Like " boxes on social media in messages from Alistair Campbell, Lord Adonis and other Blarites , but how many Corbynists can I find who attack the Tory Brexit plans.

5. Beyond the bubble

I also asked marchers if they knew anyone who had voted leave who had now changed their minds. The answer was almost universally a long pause, followed by ‘I know of people who have’.
The Remain campaign – and its arguments – appear to be locked within a certain 2016 time-warp: similar figures repeating similar arguments to a similar group of people. That is not to say the arguments are wrong – they just won’t convince current Leavers.
The response I got to this (from two marchers I spoke to) was that then-16 and 17 year olds were now of voting age, and ‘older voters are dying off’. This is the same argument that persuaded the US and the world that Donald Trump could not possibly win. It’s not demographics, stupid – it’s politics.
One marcher told me people voted to leave out of ‘frustration’ and disinformation (‘so much rubbish’). That may be so – but that frustration and alienation with politics has not gone away. Indeed, it may only increase if people feel ‘betrayed’ or that an elite are trying to override democracy.
Nor have the rules of campaigns been updated to avert the risk of more (not less) disinformation and foreign influence taking place next time. As one marcher told me, ‘if the vote happened again, it [the result] would be the same’.
Saturday’s march was impressive and has galvanised the anti-Brexit cause. Now the focus must be on honing the arguments – and getting the right messengers – to ensure the movement is not just a liberal love-in.
It is time to move on from the arguments of 2016. It is not enough to say ‘voters were lied to’ or ‘older voters are dying off’. We have to win the argument on how people feel about Europe. That will take a lot more work.
OK Mortimer final point may be right in that voters are still evenly split and Leavers are not drifting to Remain in their masses , but some of the Blame here must surly with  the opposition cabinet , at times it seems at PMQ's , the main opposition speaker is the SNP's Ian Blackford, even if Corbyn supports Brexit he should be putting a case that the Tories are making a complete Balls Up of it.



 

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