There should be a new referendum when the real terms for Brexit are known

24th June 2016 Socialist Action 0

By Jane West

On Thursday 23 June the electorate in Britain voted narrowly – by fewer than 1.3m votes, that is less than 2 per cent of the population – for a lie. They voted for the lie that if Britain came out of the EU it could maintain all the benefits of EU membership – free trade in Europe, the leading role of London, all the protections that came with EU legislation for human rights, the environment, for working conditions etc – without the downsides. These downsides were presented as ‘uncontrolled immigration’, loss of ‘sovereignty’ and a subsidy to the EU that could otherwise be spent on the NHS.

photo: Homerton University Hospital

Migration is an economic benefit

21st June 2016 Socialist Action 0

The leadership of the Leave campaign in the UK’s EU referendum has focussed its fight on whipping up hostility to immigration and encouraged a reactionary political climate. It’s main argument, that immigration lowers living standards, is not true, but this is not being challenged by the Cameron leadership of the Remain campaign.

The article below, by Michael Burke, explaining why migration raises living standards, was initially published by Socialist Economic Bulletin.

EU – vote to REMAIN in this referendum

22nd February 2016 Socialist Action 0


Editorial

The Tory media and the Labour right will spend the next four months claiming that the most important question facing Britain and people within it is whether Britain stays in the EU or not. It is not. The most important question facing people in Britain is whether economic, social, and political policies are pursued which defend their living standards. This requires the rebuilding of social services, increases in wages, a state led investment programme focussed on green and other infrastructure, opposition to Britain’s wars, opposition to the forms of racism whipped up every day in the media and numerous other policies.