DESPITE the Queen’s plea for ‘reasonableness’ the knives are out for tomorrow’s House of Commons debate on the EU with rival amendments tabled to delay the EU leaving date, and for May to tell Brussels that it must dump the backstop, or face the prospect of a ‘no-deal’ exit.
The latter amendment is from Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of The 1922 Committee. He made May Tory leader without a vote after the shock of the 2016 referendum defeat, and will no doubt organise her eviction from Downing Street if she is unable to get his amendment, provided it passes the House of Commons, accepted by the EU.
The Brady amendment requires ‘the Northern Ireland backstop to be replaced with alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border; supports leaving the European Union with a deal and would therefore support the Withdrawal Agreement subject to this change’.
The Yvette Cooper amendment seeks to stop a no-deal Brexit from happening. The UK is set to leave the EU on 29th March with or without a deal. The legal rules of the Brexit process – known as Article 50 – state that a country has two years to prepare from the moment it triggers the process to leave the EU.
That two-year time limit is almost up! The only way the UK can be stopped from leaving the EU on World Trade Organisation terms on March 29th, is by either asking for a formal delay to the two-year process (which member states would have to agree to) or unilaterally cancelling it completely.
The Yvette Cooper amendment gives the government until 26th February to get parliamentary approval for a Withdrawal Agreement and allow parliament to vote on an extension of Article 50 if it fails. MPs would be able to demand or amend proposals for a nine-month extension. The amendment has the backing of Tories, Nicky Morgan and Sir Oliver Letwin, Labour MPs, Hilary Benn and Liz Kendall, the Lib Dems and the SNP, but as yet has not the official support of the Labour Party.
With tension between the classes, and the pro and anti-Brexit factions mounting to breaking point, the capitalist state itself is making preparations to step in to take over ruling the country. The Sunday Times tells us that ‘Brexit planners’ are examining the possibility of martial law in Britain. Whitehall officials are looking at how to use powers available under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to stop civil disobedience after the UK leaves the EU.
The legislation gives ministers the power to impose curfews, travel bans, confiscate property and deploy the armed forces. Its source told the newspaper: ‘The over-riding theme in all the no-deal planning is civil disobedience and the fear that it will lead to death in the event of food and medical shortages.’
It added: ‘Although there is nothing that can replicate the scale of chaos threatened by a no-deal Brexit, which will be about a thousand times worse than the volcanic ash cloud crisis, this is about the closest example we have in modern British history.
‘The only other thing that would be comparable would be something like a major Europe-wide war.’
The Daily Telegraph alleges that the state is preparing for a second referendum, with the Electoral Commission: ‘Proposing to prosecute political parties and referendum campaign groups itself, rather than pass on all potentially criminal cases to the police.’
Meanwhile, the Irish government is worried that a no-deal Brexit will see UK and Irish troops manning a hard border.
We can assure the Dublin government that a ‘no-deal’ Brexit will be seen through in the UK by the power of the working class taking to the streets French-style, and descending on the House of Commons to shut it down.
What is required in the face of a UK ruling class that is now threatening to export all businesses out of the UK is a workers revolution to shut down the House of Commons and replace it with a government by workers councils.
This will expropriate the bosses and the bankers and bring in a planned socialist economy. It will also give the Irish people the go-ahead to abolish their border.
Brexit will be a massive liberating force and will spread all over Europe, bringing down the EU and bringing in a Socialist United States of Europe.
