By Phil Churchman, Norfolk for Europe
This is the latest letter to my MP, Clive Lewis and Labour leadership, prompted by an article Kate Gott forwarded. Happy New Year!
Subject: Our country’s future is too important to be settled by brinkmanship
Brexit is a symptom of and a local contributor to the global tectonic shift to nationalism. We are reverting to a world where short-term national interests are sovereign, “might is right” and global institutions and cooperative endeavours including the EU, UN and WTO are systematically undermined. Trump is waging open war against the latter while Putin and others are doing so more insidiously but equally effectively.
In a world in which the US, Russia, China, Brazil and other countries are casting aside decades of cooperation and returning to the confrontational politics of the Cold War, the UK’s politicians have a choice: Do we try to maintain and be part of a global cooperative environment in which shared issues such as the environment, migration and trade are dealt with in the common interest, or do we allow ourselves to be swept back to a world of global standoffs, posturing and conflict? Today’s politicians will be judged by which side of this they stood.
Deciding that leaving the EU because of its failings, such as its handling of the Greece crisis, is a good thing, rather than staying and working collaboratively on its reform, is myopic to put it mildly. Britain will be safer and more prosperous in Europe, and it is within our gift as a country to ensure this wealth is shared more fairly. In a relentlessly capitalist, dog-eat-dog world outside the EU, Labour’s politics will not be successful. Labour will also be abandoned by many remain-supporting voters who see the current leadership stance as an abdication of its duty to put the country, party members and constituents ahead of internecine Westminster politics.
The Brexit mantras of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn amount to a game of political chicken. Our country’s future is too important to be settled by brinkmanship. We need Labour to lead with a vision of global cooperation that includes the UK remaining in the EU.
Yours sincerely,
Phil Churchman