IT IS NOW becoming crystal clear that a concerted campaign by Labour right wingers to keep the disintegrating Tory minority government of Theresa May in power is underway under the pretext of negotiating a ‘soft’ Brexit.
‘Soft Brexit’ is the code for a plot to completely overturn the result of the referendum and keep Britain tied to the capitalist conspiracy that is the EU. After being comprehensively defeated in the referendum vote, the plotters are now determined to implement a back-door deal with the ‘remainers’ of the Tory party in what amounts to a political coup to keep May in power and dump ‘Brexit’ for good.
At a time when the Tories are hated by workers and young people, they intend to overturn the referendum vote and keep the dying dog of this minority Tory government in power to continue its savage austerity war on the working class on behalf of the bankers and bosses.
Last week, right-wing Labour MP, Hilary Benn, the man who led the campaign to oust Jeremy Corbyn last year and overturn that democratic leadership vote, announced that it was essential to the future of the British capitalism that Corbyn accept remaining in the single market.
This followed a statement issued last week by 50 Labour MPs and MEPs insisting Corbyn had to respect the wishes of those who voted to remain by fighting ‘unambiguously for membership of the single market’. The wishes of the majority who voted to leave count for nothing to these MPs.
An article in the Observer yesterday claimed that since the general election: ‘There is a growing view in Labour, and sections of the Tory party, that the government lacks a mandate for hard Brexit, and that such an approach is not backed by the majority of MPs.’
It went on to assert that pressure was being put on Corbyn by these right-wingers and the TUC general secretary, Francis O’Grady. On Saturday, the TUC issued a statement that Britain ‘needs a Brexit that works for working people’ and insisted that it was a ‘mistake’ for May to rule out membership of the single market.
Now that May, following her total humiliation and defeat in the general election, is being pushed by a whole section of the Tory party to remain in the single market, the TUC and Labour MPs will be backing her all the way, supporting the minority Tory government at the very point that the working class is determined to kick them out.
Any doubts as to the real intentions of the Labour right-wing were dispelled by an interview with the Labour MP Mary Creagh immediately following the Queen’s Speech last Wednesday in which she baldly stated that ‘the Labour Party’s position is to remain in the European Union’.
When challenged that this was emphatically not the Labour Party policy she remained silent, for it is the policy of these Blairites, determined to keep British capitalism safe from the working class who had the temerity to vote against the wishes of the bankers and capitalists.
In interviews after the general election both Corbyn and his shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, were absolutely clear that the Labour Party is committed to leaving the EU and single market. The working class must demand that there be no retreat from this position and that Corbyn deals ruthlessly with these plotters preparing to save May and drive them out of the party.
Equally, the TUC leaders like O’Grady who are also giving support to the Tories must be removed and every trade union must support the mass march on Saturday and support the millions of workers and young people demanding the Tories be driven from office.
If the Tories cling on to continue their war on the working class the TUC must immediately call a general strike to remove them and bring in a workers government. A workers government that will carry out socialist policies of nationalising the banks and industry under the control of workers and that will extend its hand to the working class of Europe in the struggle to smash the capitalist EU through socialist revolution and advance to the United Socialist States of Europe.