Thread by @Calumets

Brexit Betrayal.
Talk about missed opportunities… With Brexit & Corbyn we had an historic chance to kick out corporatism, to fight back against the neo-liberal charge off the cliff, a movement ready to shine a socialist beacon of hope across the entire European continent. 1/44

Instead, we have Keith & Boris pushing their Bad Deal...

What follows is a post from November 2018 in which I ‘confessed’ to voting Leave (it felt like that). It outlines some of the reasons why (if you prefer it in verse, see my other Brexit thread). 2/44

I agonised over this decision. I have family on the continent, I spend a lot of time there, but I did my research, I read the Lisbon Treaty & realised that as a socialist I could only vote Leave…

It seems relevant now, as Boris’ dreadful deal reignites discussion. 3/44

I cannot mourn Brexit, I’d still vote Leave, but I do mourn the nature of our leaving & I’m angry with the 2nd Ref crew (led by Starmer) who sabotaged all my hopes for a socialist future, many of whom didn’t, don’t, understand what the EU is even now. 4/44

Here’s the post, I called it ‘Brexit In The Balance’:

I voted Leave. There, I have said it. What’s more, I would vote Leave again. It is good to get that off my chest. 5/44

Most of my friends and family, I believe, are staunch Remainers and they may feel surprised, even betrayed, by this action. But I am not a little-Englander; I am motivated by a much larger, global necessity. 6/44

It should be no surprise to Remainer friends that I voted Leave. They know I am left-wing, anti-austerity, that I support worker rights & democracy & see global warming & rampant inequality as proof that the failed capitalist ideology is a serious threat to our future. 7/44

I believe that by voting Remain, left-wing friends disconnect from their values & follow the instincts of convenience. The EU embodies & enforces the psychotic capitalist hegemony & subordinates the rights of the individual. It is destroying our planet. 8/44

My Remainer friends should also have supported Leave.

Multi-national corporations, tax-dodging elites and organised crime thrive in the compost of EU regulation. The EU is designed precisely to ensure these evils thrive. 9/44

A single political entity, a single currency, suits the global hegemon – it is far easier to deal with. State aid to failing industries is prohibited by EU law. Austerity, as a response to the criminality of the banks and the rich elites, is written into the EU treaty… 10/44

…as a non-negotiable obligation as are the capitalist economic principles of Thatcher and Reagan.

The EU smoothed the Tory path to privatisation of the Post Office & the break-up of the railways. Privatisation of the NHS is already underway, facilitated by EU regulations. 11/44

The EU undermined the UN’s 1951 refugee convention by signing an agreement with Turkey which treats all refugees with a blanket judgement rather than each individual case upon its merits.

The EU has an unelected ruling executive with such great power it was able, in 2015… 12/44

…to brush aside the democratically elected left-wing government of Greece.

The EU judiciary subordinates the workers’ right to strike to the employer’s right to conduct business freely – as proven by the 2016 French workers’ strikes… 13/44

…against EU attempts to impose longer working hours.

Some argue that the EU is an institution that has helped Europe to remain at peace since the Second World War. That isn’t true. NATO, perhaps, has done that (Balkans aside). The EU has in fact done the opposite… 14/44

…and is largely responsible for the Russian invasion of Crimea and the Ukraine as it pushes Russia into a corner by continually pressing for European expansion into previously Soviet-aligned states. 15/44

The current build-up of NATO and Russian forces on EU borders, talk of European armies and US threats to withdraw from nuclear arms treaties with Russia are all the result of an ever-expanding EU empire. 16/44

There was so much misinformation during the referendum campaigns, from both sides. Remainers often bemoaned the lies told by right-wing Leavers – & there were many. But they ignore those told by Remain. 17/44

Let’s take one claim, that of sovereignty. This has always been a huge rallying call for the right, & Remain has always claimed that European Parliamentary oversight guarantees democratic control. 18/44

But those Remainers are just repeating what they have been told. They haven’t done the research. If they had (the Lisbon Treaty is here: eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/…)... 19/44

…they would discover that unelected Commissioners are indeed regulated by Parliament in all areas EXCEPT the area of Corporate Governance. That is the area of law-making governing how Corporate bodies behave & are regulated. 20/44

Here the Commission cites 'regulation fatigue' as the reason it 'has been advancing a substantial part of the corporate governance agenda through non-legislative methods.' Too many regulations inhibit international trade to such a degree that they bypass Parliament! 21/44

Corporate Governance sits outside parliamentary oversight, and people don't realise this because of the veneer of democratic oversight applied in other areas, and the MSM control of information. But this area allows Corporations to lord it over us all. 22/44

Sorry to patronise, but this is why it is so important to actually read the documents, rather than rely on the messaging elites themselves put out. You have to go looking, & read through the Regulations to find it (they are deliberately opaque). 23/44

There are many, many things I will regret if we finally succeed in Leaving. An economic recession is a serious risk and I will, first and foremost, regret the pain and suffering that that will cause many people in this country. 24/44

I will regret the psychological distance Leave will create between the British and our neighbours on the continent. I will regret losing the ease of travel between countries, both personally in terms of my holidays every year camping in France and Germany… 25/44

…and in a wider sense with the unfettered movement of workers and immigration, which I believe enriches our experience. There are many other benefits, which by Leaving we will lose, but these are not enough. 26/44

Remainer friends tell me that Britain will forever be diminished on the global stage if we Leave, that we will have less influence, less clout. Call me unpatriotic but surely that would be a good thing? 27/44

There is no argument I can support for why little Britain has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Our history is littered with illegal wars and the Capitalist Catastrophe facing the world was instigated here. We need less clout! 28/44

Others fear that once out of the EU Britain will swing further to the right in a bid to become a sort of Singapore of the North Atlantic with worker and human rights dissolved. That may be the Tory plan… 29/44

…and there is no doubt that many Leavers are right-wing, racist, gullible fools hankering for a white-faced, empire-era England reassuringly tiered by class where everyone knows their place. 30/44

But voting Leave did not align me with the anti-immigration Farage & Boris little-Englander, far-right fanatic fraternity. It was the first vote I had ever had that allowed me to actually push for a future I believe in (not being a fan of Blairite Toryism): a vote to… 31/44

…wrest control from the entrenched world powers which are running the globe into the ground.

The world faces an emergency of epic proportions. As global warming, war & inequality accelerate, the only chance we have as a race to rescue our planet is… 32/44

…through the painful wresting of power from those who support our current course: the headlong charge into oblivion.

With Brexit, we have an historic opportunity. 33/44

Britain has the largest socialist party in Europe. This movement is ready to step in and provide a left-wing government as a beacon of hope for the entire continent as the rest of Europe slides inexorably further right. 34/44

Many Remainers claim to be committed and enthusiastic supporters of Jeremy Corbyn and True Labour, but Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour government would in all likelihood be forced to break EU law to carry out its manifesto commitments. 35/44

Remainers can’t have it both ways: the result of the, albeit flawed, first referendum must be honoured. If you support democracy, you must resist a second referendum; if you support the NHS, you must support Leave; if you support… 36/44

…Jeremy Corbyn, you must support Leave; if you are against austerity, you must support Leave.

Voting Leave was the only vote I have ever had which could make any real difference at all & I for one didn’t want to miss that opportunity. That is why I voted Leave. 37/44

End of original post.

Of course, things have moved on now. The uninformed were so vociferous in their refusal to accept the democratic mandate of the referendum (social democrats are they?), were so consumed by the right-wing Leave rhetoric they reacted against… 38/44

…that they failed to understand the reasons why socialists like Jeremy Corbyn, or Tony Benn, had always mistrusted the EU project. Now we all have to accept the consequences. The ironically named ‘People’s Vote’ crew drove millions… 39/44

…of working-class Labour voters into the hands of Tories.

The worst government in living memory has been in charge of how we Brexit, and of our response to pandemic, we have Blairites back in control of Labour, but worse than all of this, in all my 52 years of voting… 40/44

…of bemoaning the self-interest & inadequacy of politicians, the one chance we have had of securing a truly socialist government was betrayed, & those to blame refuse to accept responsibility. 41/44

Starmer's behaviour over Brexit (destroying all chance of a 'softer' exit, whipping support for Tories) proves that his motivation was always naked ambition, his plan simply to replace socialism with 'centrism' by betraying Corbyn & all of us. How can you support this man? 42/44

Donald Tusk warned that Brexit would 'lead to the destruction, not just of the EU, but of Western civilisation in its entirety.’ For me, this was and is a great opportunity. Western civilisation has served a purpose, but it is now destroying the planet. It needs to go. 43/44

We may never have another chance. I’m angry now. I should have hope.

If you pushed for a 2nd ref, you are to blame like Watson & McNichol. Remember that as wave after wave of climate catastrophe crashes on our shores in coming years… 44/44

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1343539…

Be specific @timdwelly - which part of the thread do you think is chemically-induced & why? How about your Crimea argument? Have one? And be careful, is ‘New World Order’ an anti-Semitic trope? I’ve added the tweet you lost...