Stop Tory Brexit – Joan Twelves

Dear Jeremy and Labour Party comrades

I have decades of experience campaigning in Lambeth and across London. I am currently a member of Vauxhall CLP EC and a coordinator for the local Momentum group. I am writing to share my concerns about how the current EU election is being run.

The day after I received my postal voting form I received a personalised letter from the Lib Dem’s Mayoral candidate. I see from Facebook that lots of other postal voters have received similar from the Brexits. But nothing from Labour. We wouldn’t know an election is going on!

In my constituency the chance to get out on the doorstep and explain that our unrepresentative hard Brexiteer MP, Kate Hoey, does not represent the views of local Party members has been seized by all wings of the Party with enthusiasm. Three of London’s MEP candidates are members of this constituency. Again, all wings of what is often depicted as a politically split CLP have welcomed their nominations and are eager to campaign for them.

But – along with the lack of attention being given to the thousands of postal voters, who faced with a long and complicated ballot form let alone a short and ‘complicated’ (in the Facebook sense of the word) campaign really need some guidance – the Labour Party machinery has not just been unhelpful but at worst has pushed activists away.

I manage a Community Centre but was quickly told that it would be impossible to host any kind of rally or meeting there because, even if I personally donated the cost, it would not be permitted as it would be charged against election expenses. I have even been told that putting up a Labour poster is banned. (By the way, I have no intention of obeying that edict – and if it is true then I would like to see it in writing.)

It does not help that this lacklustre attitude to campaigning – so unlike the spirit of the 2017 campaign – is reflected in the paucity of literature that has been produced. What has been produced is dire. Instead of suggesting that the European Parliament funds the Met Police, the NHS and schools (and is therefore responsible for the current cuts), why haven’t the policies contained in the excellent PES manifesto, which Labour signed up to some months ago, been used as the basis for spelling out what our MEPs can do; why hasn’t the excellent record of what socialist MEPs have achieved contained in Labour’s own European Manifesto been mentioned? That Manifesto is great – but who’s going to know that. It’s top secret.

Instead we get the fluffy Hallmark slogan of ‘bringing our country together again’. To do that requires honesty, bravery and a clear position on Brexit. These elections are about Europe. The issue cannot be ignored. It has to be confronted head on. Is it any surprise that the two parties who are rising in the polls are the two who are campaigning with the clearest message in respect of Brexit. A clear strong message will do more to bring the country together than woolly ambiguity.

And what about social media ? From voter registration drives, to enthusiastically selling the messages in the Manifesto across Facebook and Twitter, the Party could be doing so much more. More than nothing, that is. In 2017 Labour dominated social media – why are we not doing the same by recapturing the spirit we found then? Labour’s posts don’t even mention the elections. It is being left to individual candidates to wage an air war on their own. And to individual CLPs like my own to organise doorstepping, canvassing, and photo ops with the candidates and the rare Shadow Cabinet Minister who is actively campaigning to get across Labour’s internationalist message.

Having seen the complexity of the ballot paper, with 10 Parties and 11 independents standing in London, the party needs to at least be explaining the voting system! Will there be ‘Get-out-the-vote’ leaflets doing that or will it, like everything else about this campaign, be left to individual candidates and grassroots members to do that. Without spending any money?

I gather the spending restrictions are because any expenditure now may get charged against a future early general election. But it won’t be spending too much at the GE which will lose us votes. It will be not campaigning now. We are losing the General Election campaign on the doorstep today . Once voters – and members (a third of Labour List readers!) – abandon Labour to vote for another party they rarely come back. The majority of Labour members and voters in London support remaining in the EU, and we have been losing members and voters in my constituency for months because of our MP’s and the Leader’s positions on Brexit. If Labour does badly on 23 May because of the lack of campaign support already unhappy members will be even further demotivated.

Complex messages need to be got across in this election. We need to be explaining how voting for other smaller parties is a wasted vote as they are not in a position to either deliver the public vote on Brexit of their claims – only Labour can do that – nor are they in a position to influence the policies and practices of the European Union – only Labour and its allies in the S&D can challenge for the Commission Presidency and affect the EU’s attitude to the UK. And we need to be spelling out that only Labour is committed to challenging the growth of fascist and alt-right populism across Europe and in the UK.

London is a great working class city and the majority of its diverse, multi-national residents want to stay in the European Union. We have great candidates who will represent this city and its people heart and soul. Let’s please tell Londoners who they are, how to vote, and why, above all, they should vote Labour. Against austerity, for real action against climate catastrophe, for peace and prosperity across our continent.

I feel obliged to complain like this because if ordinary members like me don’t, then nothing will change.

In hope and solidarity

Joan

Footnote:

I’m pleased to say that after I wrote this the Labour Party machinery swung into action – in London at least – and has produced election material, including on social media. Hundreds of Party members have enthusiastically accompanied our candidates on the doorstep. But, as the same time, far too many members are saying they are voting for one of the smaller Remain parties. A wasted vote, which could allow Farage’s Party to top the poll and send a message to Europe and the world that a bunch of anti-European, anti-migrant right-wing little-Englander charlatans represent the values and opinions of this country.

I will be voting Labour on Thursday and I call on all socialist Remainers to do the same.

Joan, 19 May 2019

Dear Jeremy

I was appalled to wake up to hear the Tory spin that you might accept the paltry concessions offered by the PM to push Brexit through Parliament.

Concessions on things which should be happening anyway. And even if the Tories are prepared to row back on a few workplace rights they have spent the last decades demolishing, and offer some more Sports Direct depots to the former coalfield communities, what about our environmental rights, what about our consumer rights, what about our rights as European citizens to travel, study, work, live, and love across our neighbouring continent, what about the rights of EU citizens in this country, what about all of our rights to free movement across the world – or is that just for the rich? Where are your demands on these rights? Where are the Tories’ concessions on these?

The fact that I could believe this possible is an indictment of the position you have taken on Brexit ever since the referendum – indeed during it when I was told by your staff that you felt you had done enough meetings on Europe after just doing a couple, and therefore could not do one in south London with me.

You are making it impossible for comrades like myself to defend your Leadership. Brexit is an anti-internationalist, anti-solidarity, anti-peace, anti-immigrant right-wing project – there is no fantasy Lexit which will overturn austerity; indeed, the reverse as the country is impoverished and the NHS crumbles for lack of staff, medicines and funding.

Good comrades are leaving the Party in Vauxhall because you have not only failed to provide clear and decisive leadership against Brexit but also because you have failed to take any action against our MP, who has been consistently allowed to break the whip and collude with the most rabidly right-wing of Brexiteers such as Nigel Farage and Arron Banks. Motions of no confidence in Kate Hoey have won unanimous support across the Party here, but nothing ever happens; but it is more than clear that nobody here will campaign for her if she is allowed to restand as our PPC. The trade union sponsorship the CLP has received for her for the last 30 years has recently been stopped. It is time the Party did the same.

Criticism of the institutions of the EU is fine. But you have to make them in the light of the objective circumstances of the time; and the objective circumstances now are that the right are advancing across the world and we – you – need to be leading the fightback against them. Rather than bunkering into a ‘socialism in one country’ world view, the fight needs to be taken into Europe, where we need to be working with socialists, not against them.

I hate referendums. But I believe that another is unavoidable if the anti-Europe vote in the first one is to be overturned. You need to not just support another vote, but make it very, very clear that you will campaign and fight to challenge the original decision and support Remain and Reform loudly and proudly.

I believe the advice you are receiving is wrong. You need to get out of the bunker and the Westminster bubble and talk to comrades who take a pro-European view. More than happy to get on the bus and come and chat any time.

Comradely greetings

Joan