It is a great ill that befalls the Left when it frames the UK as some progressive institution. This is pure dogma. It is clear that so many of the British Left are content to merely occupy the structures of power rather than dismatle the cause of inequality.
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The Tories represent two clear strands; Capital and Social Conservativism. They also represent a political tradition that stretches back through the centuries when the UK was forged on the basis of class hegemony of capital and imperial expansion.
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While the empire may be gone and we be no colony there exists a structure which has clear parallels. That is the core-periphery econo-political model that describes the centralized British State. I believe this👇can be scaled to the British State
It is a genuine iniquity that the British Progressive Left posseses such a deliberate blindspot. Time and again the mere occupation of these power structures has led only to politically topological changes that are easily reversed by the Tories.
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We are yet to witness a genuine reform of the UK state. Home rule and reform of the Lords remain as unlikely as ever. Elitist private education is availed of by leading figures on the Left.
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As the Tories openly milk the golden cow it has created for themselves, so British Progressives apply the fig leaf of the projections of their proclaimed values on an ostensibly conservative and unequal class derived UK. This is unicorn politics.
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One such diffuse and woolly argument goes; "I have more in common with the working people of (insert urban English city/region name here) than I do the landowners of Wales." As if this has anything whatsoever to do with the right of Wales to self-determination.
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You could extend this argument to any other country or region of the World. It is patently ridiculous. So in what way does Wales' inclusion in the UK help the people of Newcastle better than we could if in possession of our statehood? Do our votes make the difference at WM?
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The fact the Tories are the UK's greatest cheerleaders and wrap it up in an affected patriotism should sound an alarm for British progressives but they appear tone deaf to it!
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This has cost the Labour party dearly in Scotland albeit a few established figures elsewhere eg Clive Lewis, Ben Bradshaw, Mick Antoniw etc appear to be waking up to the reality.
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The dissolution of the UK should be seized upon as an opportunity by progressives in all the British Nations to fundementally reform the distribution of power and end the structural inequalities that feed the class/capitalist hegemony of the Tories.
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#DissolveTheUnion is the first step in the meaningful progressive reform of Britain. The establishment of 3 new Nation States and a British Council a la Benelux rooted in the principles of democracy, self-determination & subsidiarity is our path towards social justice.
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This will only be the beginning of the journey. Principles are not sufficient alone. But social justice is not possible in a Tory rigged UK no matter who occupies the positions of government. They merely preside over the continuation of the problem.
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The ad hominem "seperatist" must be abandoned by progressives. It echoes the language of the Right. We Statists are the reformers. We seek the political agency to affect social progress in our nations.
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We don't seek independence on the basis of exceptionalism but of democracy & self-determination. The UK from the progressive perspective isn't fit for purpose or reformable. It must be dismantled & a new relationship est'd between our Nations founded in respect & equality.
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This will also be to England's advantage. An English State will by necessity have to reconsider its world view. It will also need cooperation with Europe in order to thrive. This will be a reckoning and it will require cultural & societal change.
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That is the opportunity England's progressives must take to reform their country and rebuild it as a modern European Nation.
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It's high time to put the dogma of the past behind us and allow the UK one last hurrah in peacefully bequething to us 3 new States and a fourth reunited as it passes into history.
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We will have solidarity if we build anew together as free nations. We will have internationalism when we dismantle the Tory hegemony and rebuild our relationships with our neighbours in Europe and beyond.
I've been pro #indyWales for more than 30 years. I've always favoured progressive liberal policies. Over the years I've come to see how class & entrenched priviledge forged the UK as a political entity and continues to perpetuate inequality day in, day out.
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2. I should be a natural Labour man. But I'm not. I first voted in 1997. I voted @Plaid_Cymru and have done ever since. Why? Because Labour kept telling me my being Welsh didn't matter. Being British was better. Voting Labour was supposed to be THE bulwark against Toryism.
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But I saw Labour people hostile to my language, who called me backward because I thought it mattered. I saw Kinnock drag the history of my people through the mud. I saw Blair abandoning Labour principles I actually thought worthy and sell out to American Neo-Cons.
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1. For those wondering about this whole "England subsidises Wales" rubbish doing the rounds recently ... a thread👇
2. There is a deficit attributed between government spending and revenues in Wales.
It's not Wales' deficit. It's an estimate for the internal accounting of the UK state. It's the deficit of UK state spending and revenue attributed to Wales.
3. I repeat, it is not our deficit. How can it be? We don't have significant borrowing powers. We don't have significant powers over taxation. The Welsh Government budget is decided via the Barnett formula according to England's spending plans.
1/ The Right is far more at ease with it's conception of the Nation State than the Left. Their narrative seems to go almost unchallenged. "Patriotism not Nationalism." They have a bunch of people convinced that flag waving support for a state isn't nationalism. Labour included.
2/ Well, here's 3 very different definitions of the word:
a) Devotion, especially excessive or undiscriminating devotion, to the interests or culture of a particular nation-state.
3/ b) The belief that nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively, emphasizing national rather than international goals.
c) The belief that a particular cultural or ethnic group constitutes a distinct people deserving of political self-determination.
Wales' economy lacks linkages and requires development policies/spending.
It's treated as a component of a developed economy.
Consequence 1: low capital expenditure leads to lower productivity & limits potential for new growth.
2/ Consequence 2: Low productivity limits competitiveness so limits inward flow of money locking Wales in a vicious circle.
Conclusion 1. Wales is locked in a suboptimal economic/constitutional arrangement in which the currency is too strong relative to its economic performance
3/ Conclusion 2: Inability to adjust capital expenditure restricts the creation of new linkages in the economy that leads to growth.
Conclusion 3: Scale comparison and electoral calculus makes the Welsh economy a low priority for the UK government.
Been mulling over some moderate reasons against #IndyWales.
In the end they just boil down to one of two options
1. Preference 2. Indy Anxiety
Because I'm really struggling to understand how anyone can defend a state running a 35% deficit with v poor socio-economic outcomes.
Too poor.
Both Labour and Conservative governments favour an economic and constitutional model that's responsible for Wales' current performance. If we are poor isn't it time to change the model?
England subsidises Wales.
The UK state has allowed Wales' economy to lose ground with roUK to the point of running a £13.7Bn govt spending deficit. Don't blame Wales. Blame the governments, the political parties whose policies failed Wales. A prosperous Wales is good for England