Dear Jeremy,
I'm not “anti-Corbyn”. Far from it, I voted for you twice, and have been vocal in your defence. Your election as party leader has provided a counter narrative to the new right agenda that's been desperately needed for 30 years, but loving your politics doesn't mean I agree with everything you do – and on Brexit you have pushed me over the edge.
I defended our policies of triangulation and constructive ambiguity on Remain social media sites in blogs and debate. I understand the delicacy of Labour’s electoral position in some seats but I can no longer defend Labour's position, which has moved from “keeping options open” to active support for Brexit.
This is a suicidal path.
As a party our membership are at least 70% remain. Where's the mandate for you to take this route? What are the rational arguments for a complete reversal of our democratically agreed position? It's absolutely clear that Brexit is going to be an economic disaster. It's said you are in favour because “if we remain in Europe re-nationalisation policies can't be implemented”. I don't know if that is true, but it would be a minor problem compared to the scale of economic harm Brexit will cause. It's bad enough now. If Brexit happens, we will see an economic meltdown that will be a far greater barrier to your policies than any constraints imposed by the EU.
You say “we must respect democracy”. I agree, we must, but the outcome of the referendum was one one of the most corrupt votes in my lifetime.
We know the leave campaign broke rules wholesale - Cambridge Analytica, cheating on spending rules, a campaign was based on “lies on an industrial scale”. Add to this the demographic with the most to lose, Britons living in Europe and Europeans living in the UK, having no vote and a media almost entirely owned by reactionary vermin who have fanned the fires of racism, intolerance and ignorance for decades. The corruption of the Brexit campaign wasn't a one-off. These techniques will be used again and again by the right - and they will be used against our party. Supporting Brexit isn’t defending democracy - it’s defending a hideously corrupt set of tactics devised by the likes of Steve Bannon and the US new right.
While I'm on the subject of reactionary vermin – how can you support a far right agenda? How can you sit on the same side as Gove, Fox, Rees-Mogg, Nigel Farage and company? How can you of all people embrace a policy they passionately advocate? Can't you see that Brexit is far more than a bit of reactionary nationalism. Brexit and Donald Trump are two sides of the same coin. Study the narrative of the US new right and you'll quickly see they detest Europe – it's “too socialist” for them. The new right in the UK have been in close contact with the new right in the USA for years. That's what Liam Fox's Atlantic Bridge was all about. The forces behind Brexit and Donald Trump are two sides of the same coin.
This is a political movement that passionately believes all tax is theft, that the State should play almost no role in society and is wedded to the crazed social darwinist philosophy of Ayn Rand. We already hear Tory bigwigs talking about “deregulating the Labour Market” - code for trashing everything the labour movement has fought for over the last 120 years. A vision for a new Britain in the eyes of the Tory monsters includes the windfall of disaster capitalism, fracking, culling of environmental standards, and the sale of the NHS to the private health industry.
Terrible as all these things are, they are not the worst aspect of your current position on Brexit. You offered hope to the millions who felt no one in politics represented their position. The young flocked too you. Last year at Glastonbury the were chanting “oh oh Jeremy Corbyn” - this year at the anti Brexit rally they were chanting “where's Jeremy Corbyn”. Most of the younger demographic, the ones who won Canterbury in 2017 voted “holding their noses” because of Brexit.
They won't do that again, the Lewisham by election was a warning. Your current position is dividing the progressive vote and could well let the worst and most evil Tory government in my lifetime carry on with their program of corrupting and destroying everything that is decent in the UK.
As a party our membership are at least 70% remain. Where's the mandate for you to take this route? What are the rational arguments for a complete reversal of our democratically agreed position? It's absolutely clear that Brexit is going to be an economic disaster. It's said you are in favour because “if we remain in Europe re-nationalisation policies can't be implemented”. I don't know if that is true, but it would be a minor problem compared to the scale of economic harm Brexit will cause. It's bad enough now. If Brexit happens, we will see an economic meltdown that will be a far greater barrier to your policies than any constraints imposed by the EU.
You say “we must respect democracy”. I agree, we must, but the outcome of the referendum was one one of the most corrupt votes in my lifetime.
While I'm on the subject of reactionary vermin – how can you support a far right agenda? How can you sit on the same side as Gove, Fox, Rees-Mogg, Nigel Farage and company? How can you of all people embrace a policy they passionately advocate? Can't you see that Brexit is far more than a bit of reactionary nationalism. Brexit and Donald Trump are two sides of the same coin. Study the narrative of the US new right and you'll quickly see they detest Europe – it's “too socialist” for them. The new right in the UK have been in close contact with the new right in the USA for years. That's what Liam Fox's Atlantic Bridge was all about. The forces behind Brexit and Donald Trump are two sides of the same coin.
This is a political movement that passionately believes all tax is theft, that the State should play almost no role in society and is wedded to the crazed social darwinist philosophy of Ayn Rand. We already hear Tory bigwigs talking about “deregulating the Labour Market” - code for trashing everything the labour movement has fought for over the last 120 years. A vision for a new Britain in the eyes of the Tory monsters includes the windfall of disaster capitalism, fracking, culling of environmental standards, and the sale of the NHS to the private health industry.
Terrible as all these things are, they are not the worst aspect of your current position on Brexit. You offered hope to the millions who felt no one in politics represented their position. The young flocked too you. Last year at Glastonbury the were chanting “oh oh Jeremy Corbyn” - this year at the anti Brexit rally they were chanting “where's Jeremy Corbyn”. Most of the younger demographic, the ones who won Canterbury in 2017 voted “holding their noses” because of Brexit.
They won't do that again, the Lewisham by election was a warning. Your current position is dividing the progressive vote and could well let the worst and most evil Tory government in my lifetime carry on with their program of corrupting and destroying everything that is decent in the UK.
