Is there any difference between when he laid out the case for leaving the single market, between the Jeremy Corbyn and Ukip in blaming immigration for harming the lives of British workers?
Well actually no, looking at it from left or right it is the same language and the sort of language some of the left have used for over a century when it comes to immigration whether it be the Irish, West Indians or Polish.
The Labour leader said that after leaving the EU, there would still be European workers in Britain and vice versa. He added:
"What there wouldn't be is the wholesale importation of underpaid workers from central Europe in order to destroy conditions, particularly in the construction industry."
Corbyn said he would prevent agencies from advertising jobs in central Europe - asking them to "advertise in the locality first". This idea draws on the "Preston model" adopted by that local authority, of trying to prioritise local suppliers for public sector contracts. The rules of the EU prevent this approach, seeing it as discrimination.
In the future, foreign workers would "come here on the basis of the jobs available and their skill sets to go with it. What we wouldn't allow is this practice by agencies, who are quite disgraceful they way they do it - recruit a workforce, low paid - and bring them here in order to dismiss an existing workforce in the construction industry, then pay them low wages. It's appalling. And the only people who benefit are the companies."
You could just imagine if it had been Plaid controlled Gwynedd Council who suggested this and the outrage of the whole of the Labour Party.
Why should we accept Corbyn's rhetoric and Hard Brexit stance and the claim that it is a different approach than that of May or Farage,
If workers on any Industry are underpaid then make sure that there are no such things as Zero and short term contracts and fining of firms and agencies who effectively employ on such contracts when they are actually working full time.
Corbyn told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show:
“The single market is dependent on membership of the EU. What we have said all along is that we want a tariff-free trade access to the European market and a partnership with Europe in the future.“The two things are inextricably linked so the question then is the kind of trade relationship of the future and we have made it very clear we want a tariff-free trade access with the European market.”Corbyn said the party had not decided on whether Labour’s policy should be to remain in the customs union, but claimed that was also firmly linked to being a member of the EU. “We haven’t jumped on either side of that fence but, again, the customs union is part of the European Union.”
So is Corbyn's opposition to the single market based on opposition to the free market or is it some kind of "Socialism in One Country" ideology?
Its strange when those on the progressive left and who supported (and still do) remain from that position find themselves in agreement with some Blarites or rather those labled such by Corbyn suppoters like Chuka Umunna, one of the party’s leading advocates of a soft Brexit, who pointed out that several countries including Norway were members of the single market without being full EU members.
Corbyn rhetoric may go down well with former Labour voters who had drifted to Ukip but what about the majority of Labour voters who favour staying in the single market.
For Wales Corbyn spell disaster and his support for a hard Brexit may appear to come from a different direction than Farage May but the eventual destination ill be disastrous for British Workers as firms up and leave for the EU and we become a low pay, low workers protection and low tax country in order to attract them.
He is just another British Unionist who may have a different vision of a Post-Brexit UK but the result will be anything but a socialist utopia.
He is just another British Unionist who may have a different vision of a Post-Brexit UK but the result will be anything but a socialist utopia.
2 comments:
I see that Ryanair have clearly stated that they will move all aircraft out of the U.K. In 2018, not 2019, if membership of the European Open Skies agreement is not clarified by then.
There will be more and more off this sort of thing. Brexit is lunacy, except for the super rich and the elite who want to remove all rights and protections from the rest of us.
Im not surprised by some of the things jezza said over the weekend - but i am bitterly disappointed! To hear a hitherto principled politician of the left like jeremy corbyn echoing the language of the europhobic british right on eu workers and immigration is deeply worrying - about all he didnt say was 'british jobs for british workers'! His comments were not only ill judged and inflammatory but plain wrong too http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/the-left-is-playing-a-dangerous-game-in-ignoring-the-evidence-over-immigratin-a7245661.html
We all know jezza's heart wasnt in the remain campaign in the eu referendum - he didnt appear in a single major debate during the campaign and his office reportedly sabotaged labour's remain campaign.Since the referendum however jeremy corbyn's position on the eu seems to have hardened considerably - to the extent where he's now in favour of leaving both the single market and the customs union. Indeed its hard now to see any appreciable difference between corbyn's position on the eu and hard brexiters like boris johnson and liam fox.
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