Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Labour's response to the Brexit crisis

This will probably be out of date in about ten minutes, but here's the outline of the policy platform which I think Labour should announce under their new leader to get Britain out of this mess.  This is based on the analysis and strategy outlined by Duncan here

-       Need to bring people together, we can only get through this crisis if we all pull together.  Condemn racist violence, reiterate all current people in UK are welcome here and announce plans to work with Labour councillors to start right now on new efforts to bring together people from different backgrounds to improve our communities.  We have nothing to fear, but fear itself

-       British people voted for Leave based on the claims that (a) continued access to markets and increased opportunities for economy, (b) cuts in immigration and (c) extra money for the NHS.  There is a mandate to trigger article 50 when and only when Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage present their plans to keep these promises

-       We all know they won’t do this, because they lied and lied and lied again throughout the campaign.  So we will set out a positive alternative for a strong United Kingdom where everyone has more opportunities, listening to people but being honest about choices

-       We will prioritise stabilising and growing our economy, getting investment back into our businesses, stopping the brain drain of talented people and backing the industries of the future

-       In order to keep our economy growing, we will need to keep free movement of people, and anyone who tells you otherwise is not being honest

-       But we will enable people to take greater control so that everyone benefits from a growing economy.  Rather than decisions about your future being taken in Brussels or London, we’ll make sure there are the resources to build the homes, provide the school places and create the jobs that we need in all parts of Britain, and you will have more control about what matters to your community

We believe the referendum was a mistake but respect the will of the people. But people can turn their backs on their mistakes just as once they turned their back on their friends. A Labour government would regard itself as having a clear mandate never to press the button on Article 50. Only a general election mandate could reverse a referendum result and that is Labour's commitment

-       Over the next few weeks, we will be listening to people and developing our manifesto for the election to come.  But we can make one specific pledge today.  Once we have stabilised the immediate economic crisis, we will spend the extra £350 million per week on our NHS which the Tories and UKIP promised but which only a strong Labour government can deliver