‘Brexishambles’: we’re sick of it!

Boot out the Tories – end austerity

Socialist Party members march to say Tories out! photo Mathan Nathan

Socialist Party members march to say Tories out! photo Mathan Nathan   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Caroline Vincent, Leicester Socialist Party

Theresa May’s ‘Brexishambles’ keeps rolling on. And we’re sick of it!

How many more extensions can she possibly request from Brussels? How many times can she present new versions of a dismal, anti-working-class, bosses’ Brexit deal for a parliamentary vote?

Could the Tories be more split, splintered, weak and wobbly? How on earth are they still in government, and is there a way out of this mess?

We’re not just sick of Brexit chaos. We’re sick of suffering years of austerity, increasing inequality and poverty.

Some in the Labour Party – particularly the Blairite right – are pointing to the idea of a ‘People’s Vote’, or second referendum, as the solution.

But we say a real people’s vote would be a general election. A Corbyn-led government, if elected with bold socialist policies, could point a way out of this mayhem on the basis of an end to austerity.

He should be loudly voicing this call, mobilising working-class people behind it, and linking up with the trade unions to build a mass movement to kick the Tories out.

If elected, a Corbyn-led government should seek to re-open the Brexit negotiations – with the central aim of defending and advancing the interests of workers, not the capitalists.

This would mean appealing to working-class people across the continent also engaged in the struggle against austerity. It would mean posing an alternative to the EU bosses’ club – a new collaboration of the peoples of Europe, on a socialist basis.

Because membership of the EU hasn’t stopped our living standards being brutally ground down in the past ten years. Who cares what colour your passport is when you can only dream of being able to afford to go on holiday?

Homelessness has risen dramatically. Public services have been cut to the bone. Young people are facing worse prospects than their parents.

Universal Credit has brought misery to benefit claimants, forcing people into debt, rent arrears and hunger.

Precarious jobs, zero-hour contracts, and poverty pay mean that many workers rely on food banks. Shockingly, one-third of children from working families are living in poverty.

The NHS is understaffed and underfunded, stretched to breaking point as a result of years of cuts and privatisation.

We want a way out of the mess! We want secure jobs, an end to zero-hour contracts. We want wages and benefits that we can live on – a minimum wage of £10 an hour as a step towards a real living wage.

We want affordable housing – a mass council house building programme is urgently needed. We want an end to privatisation in the NHS, and for our health to be put before profits.

We want a fightback! We need socialist change. Kick out the Tories and end this shambles now!