IN their latest manoeuvre to dump the 2016 referendum result to leave the EU, the right-wing of the Labour Party are now manoeuvring to dump not just Brexit but Corbyn as well.
The latest round of plotting by Blairite MPs and Labour anti-Brexit ‘activists’ around the group ‘Labour for a Peoples’ Vote’ is centred on the demand that Corbyn must convene a special conference of the party in the next few weeks. The aim of any special conference will be to force Corbyn into Labour demanding a second vote on Brexit – this will be his kiss of death!
Labour for a Peoples’ Vote has been active in constituency Labour Parties pushing the demand for a second vote and for a special conference and to adopt a model resolution which states: ‘Whether or not a vote of no confidence is tabled and a general election called for, Labour needs to move quickly to clarify our position on a public vote.’
Corbyn’s move to vote ‘no confidence’ in May was a pathetic attempt to disguise the bankruptcy of his own position, where he says, on the one hand that he supports Brexit, and on the other, he is opposed to ‘no deal’ to achieve it. He recognises that he could not fight an election opposing Brexit, or supporting a second referendum, so he targets May not the government.
Both Corbyn and the right-wing calculate that a crisis general election called before the date of Britain’s exit from the EU would cause a split in both the Labour Party and amongst the millions of workers who voted ‘Leave’.
Labour would lose seats as workers who voted for them in 2017 on the basis of a binding manifesto pledge to quit would turn their backs on a party that reneged on this solemn commitment.
Corbyn has emerged from his manoeuvring much weaker, while Labour’s right wing, who have no real commitment to the party beyond careers, are not only prepared but eager to split the Labour Party and join with the majority of Remainers in the Tory Party to move towards some form of government of national unity, to keep the British working class tied forever to the bosses and bankers of Europe.
The only unity the right-wing have is with the bosses who yesterday issued a joint statement from the Chamber of Commerce, the CBI, the manufacturers’ organisation the EEF, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors, which threatened ‘severe dislocation and disruption’ if Britain left the EU in 100 days.
The bosses are screaming and the right-wing of the Labour Party are plotting; meanwhile, Corbyn is dithering, caught between the right wing and the millions of workers who want out of an EU that serves only the capitalist class.
Corbyn’s attempt to preserve unity with the right-wing through endless prevarications over Brexit by holding on to the formula that ‘nothing is ruled out’, including presumably a second referendum, has encouraged them to plot a coup against Labour’s manifesto pledge and the first victim of this coup will be Corbyn
himself.
Corbyn had better wake up quickly to the reality of the plots against him and the working class by this treacherous fifth column. They don’t give a damn about the Labour Party or the working class, only about keeping Britain tied to the EU.
If he is to survive, he must get out of the marsh that he has sunk himself into and openly fight for Brexit. He must support ‘No Deal’ with the arrogant EU, as the Greek socialists advised years ago, and spell out that not only must the UK leave the EU on March 29 but that a Labour government is needed to deal with the bosses and bankers who will try and sabotage the UK exit.
This will require a Labour government to expropriate the bosses and the bankers and deal with any crisis by bringing in a planned socialist economy. He must advocate that a Labour government will see that ‘No Deal’ is carried out and that it becomes the gateway to a socialist planned economy. He must honour the pledges that were made to carry through Brexit, and mobilise the working class and the trade unions to achieve it.
This may well mean right wingers quitting the party in droves. However, they can be replaced quickly and cleanly and they will not be missed in the slightest.
The WRP meanwhile urges workers to join us in the building up of a real revolutionary leadership that will not betray but see that the referendum result is carried out and is the beginning of a socialist revolution throughout Europe. This is the way forward!