I am considering the #Brexit campaign. For us Remainers, the work hasn’t been done. The benefits of the EU have been hidden (or rejected via opt-outs) and we’ve been too scared to put them to people; the same is true in parts of the country on immigration. We need immigrants and owe asylum seekers our protection. I have been examining the policy options and come to the conclusion that triangulating with UKIP or their even more obnoxious allies underwrites and reinforces their arguments. The Left solution is not to “Control Immigration” but to legislate for a minimum wage, reset the balance of power in the work place by repealing much of the Tory trade union laws, by building more houses, empowering teachers, making education free again. Principles are like bayonets, better stood by than fallen back on; there would seem to be many who believe we haven’t stood by our principles of social solidarity and are ready to leave us, possibly for good.
There is a view that London’s fascists at the turn of the 20th century were beaten by pavement politics, by showing that winning (councils) matters but there is a danger that the Tory council cuts and the evisceration of local democracy, means that only winning on a national stage matters. It’s a lesson for Labour Councillors, how much longer can we bear the the dented shield, how much longer will it matter?