ON TUESDAY night, MPs voted by 329 to 299 to pass a motion in principle to back Boris Johnson’s EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
Almost immediately, they went on to reject the timetable for discussion of this deal on the grounds that the three days allocated by the Tories for any amendments was far too short a time to scrutinise and amend it. The timetable was essential if withdrawal from the EU is to happen on October 31.
Immediately after the vote, Johnson ‘paused’ his Brexit deal and put the entire programme for withdrawal back to the EU for them to decide whether to allow an extension of Brexit and for them to determine how long any extension will be.
The EU has already signalled it would approve a three-month extension; more than enough time for Labour and the other Remainer parties to amend the Withdrawal Bill to such an extent that it keeps the UK tied to the EU through the customs union and subservience to the laws laid down by the European courts.
Johnson reacted to this by saying he would call a snap general election to put an end to all the Brexit uncertainty. He insisted that, although the decision on an extension of the Withdrawal Agreement was now in the hands of the EU, as far as he was concerned October 31 was still Brexit date.
Yesterday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn met with Johnson and reached an agreement that if the EU granted an extension, then Labour would support the calling of a snap general election as it removed the ‘threat of a No Deal’.
Labour has consented to a general election which it clearly intends to fight on a manifesto supporting a Withdrawal Bill that has been so amended and cut that it completely trashes the Leave vote carried in the 2016 referendum.
Labour will most likely couple this with the pledge to hold a further referendum to overturn Brexit completely.
We now have an unprecedented state of affairs whereby the EU is in control and can dictate whether there is a general election in Britain while the capitalist state at home has taken control of the Johnson government through the courts.
Johnson, despite all his brave but empty words of ‘do or die’, has proved to be utterly spineless in the face of the courts. Instead of defying the courts in the name of upholding the democratic vote of the people, Johnson has surrendered.
To every decision of the judges, first to declare his suspension of parliament was illegal followed by the Scottish courts instructing him to send a letter to the EU asking for an extension of the October 31 date for leaving, Johnson caved in, albeit with a face-saving show of reluctance.
At every stage, Johnson and the rest of the Tory Brexiteers have surrendered to the diktats of the capitalist state handed down by the courts, while the Labourites have fully embraced the use of these same courts to smash Brexit.
Having ditched any pretence of carrying out the will of the people Corbyn, has become the most enthusiastic upholder of the rule of law against the working class.
What is clear is that none of the parties in Parliament either wants or is capable of defying a capitalist class and its state apparatus. These parties are so weak and craven that they have handed control over the country to the courts and the EU.
The working class is the only force with the determination and strength to stand up to the capitalist state by immediately organising a general strike to bring down the Johnson government, close down this Parliament of Remainers and replace it with a workers government that will force a break with the EU on October 31.
A workers government will not stop at Brexit but go forward to expropriate the bosses and bankers as part of building a socialist society. The only way forward is for the working class to smash the capitalist state and replace it with a workers state and socialism.
The only party that fights for this is the WRP – join today.