1) Mike, it honestly pains me to write this but I don't know what good you are doing now in this Anti-brexit fight, in fact I'm starting to think your position is comprised in some way.
I appreciate you gave up on staying in the EU almost 18 months ago but this is getting weird
2) in the last few weeks you've attacked the #FBPE initiative, the LDs (calling them austerity enablers) & the remainer movement in general.
You've also now pivoted to saying "the only possible path is Corbyn's Labour" & you're even now getting behind Owen Jones
3) these may be positions independently arrived at, nonetheless they also line up exactly with the aims & approach of Labour momentum (who, for example, constantly follow the anti LD position & who hate #FBPE ). If it quacks like a duck & all that
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4) supporting Owen Jones is particularly hard to take. He has spent 15 months saying that Remain is hopeless, he continues to paint Remain as undemocratic ("overturn the referendum" is his confrontational language of choice) & recently made a horrendous attack on Adonis
5) he also even now quotes YouGov surveys that have long since being discredited to "prove" that a majority actively want #Brexit.His priority is getting Labour in power, which is fair enough, but anything he says on Brexit is only with this aim in mind (as seen in article above)
6) I understand that your personal position (living in France) means retaining reciprocal rights is the highest priority. Possibly you calculate that a Corbyn gov. will guarantee these rights even if the SM & CU are thrown away. Again, fair enough, but that colours your comments
7) if however your personal position is that retaining rights for yourself overrides all other considerations then you should say so to be honest, and "fight" that cause separately rather than trying to compromise the broader anti Brexit movement.
8) I know for example 8 months ago your position was that the UK was holding the EU back & should leave. You may be right but if you still hold this position then again your comments will obviously be compromised by that pro Brexit viewpoint.
9) couple of final points - firstly, as you've said several times, soft Brexit is almost inevitable now, so not sure what campaigning for a position we've already won achieves, aim high & all that. Why capitulate when the "momentum" (excuse the pun) is with us?
10) secondly, you yourself said 18 months ago that Corbyn was an old authoritarian in the same mould as UKIP, someone very much in opposition with your (then) Liberal values - now you seem to actively embrace him
11) in my opinion is perfectly acceptable to internally accept that soft Brexit is the best we can hope for, that doesn't mean we externally capitulate on Remain at this stage, not when the reasons for leave are collapsing - this feels like another agenda
12) similarly, it's one thing to say "ease up on Labour, it doesn't help our cause", I'm tempted to agree.
But it's entirely different to align wholly with momentum objectives and language and then attack the LDs, #FBPE and generally try to divide the anti Brexit movement
13) and you *are* trying to divide the anti Brexit movement.
Trying to introduce #Retain at the very point when #FBPE is getting traction is not helpful, #FBPE is not perfect but it is widespread.
Similarly, you may not support LDs anymore but attacking them will divide us
14) to summarize, if it quacks like a duck.... Mike we both know that if, 6 months ago you saw an account aligning so slavishly to the momentum line that you would have labeled it a momentum shill account.
You've gone well beyond a "pragmatic" soft Brexit position I'm afraid
15) to others reading this thread, IMHO it's entirely appropriate to keep anti Corbyn stuff off #FBPE to keep some unity.
But it's naive to assume the aims of Corbyn & #FBPE are completely aligned & wrong to promote one whilst pretending to fight for the other
16) Labour has understandable issues with minority kipper movements in Northern seats, but this also means Labour could pivot back to a harder #Brexit at any time, for political reasons.
It's just something we need to be aware of and try to encourage against
17) but lining up with the momentum agenda as Mike appears to have done clearly prioritises a Labour gov at any cost over the fight for #FBPE. If that's Mike's position (because for example EU rights is his overwhelming concern) he should say so IMHO
End/
18) ps. Very painful to write the above, have had many good anti Brexit times with Mike & I've tried to rationalize his position but supporting Owen Jones and his "remain is hopeless" mantra was the final straw.
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1) It's still Hard #Brexit - thread
Couple of things to point out as we head to "Canada ++++"
A) it suits the EU as a fallback but
B) as far as the UK is concerned, its still damaging, draining, hardest of hard Brexits & nothing to be celebrated
Here's what we've forgotten
2) firstly, yes the EU27 would prefer we remain & if not they'd prefer a close arrangement - but at this point they'd settle for the island of Ireland being protected & an orderly exit
They're not going to save us from ourselves
They can minimise the damage of UK leaving SM
3) so let's not kid ourselves that the EU27 will make sure we get a good deal or one that has minimal damage to the UK, they will look after each other, they have to.
All the ++ means is cooperation in certain areas, not untold riches or a "special deal"
1) Thread - Labour, dodgy right Brexit activities & missed opportunities
Today I was a bystander in a discussion between @OwenJones84 & @JolyonMaugham around tweeting on Vote Leave's illegal spending, which I think is part of a bigger missed opportunity on #Brexit for Labour
2) Lets just be honest - the Tory party & #Brexit has always been dodgy. Charlatans who misled people given high government office and all that. But the last few months have had some significant revelations of dubious practices, only one of which was Vote Leave illegal spending
3) I wont't even get a complete list here but some highlights are:
- Cambridge Analytica "harvested accounts" scandal
- Links with AIQ & the Trump campaigns
- Vote Leave overspending
- Lack of clarity on Leave.EU funding
@RichardElwes@sjwrenlewis 2) (sorry, 2 "either"s there....)
As with Richard, this is not about my beliefs but public perception
Soft Brexit = Betrayal/Vassal state portrayal from Leavers, instant political cost
Hard Brexit = economic cost, which obviously leads to political cost in short order
@RichardElwes@sjwrenlewis 3) the public are fickle, and even if for example lucrative Free Trade Deals were out there the leaver vote is as likely to be more protectionist in nature.
Many leavers may see Free trade as "everyone else buying our stuff, with no downside on our industry in return"
1) Corbyn, control & democracy
The attempt to crush the #PeoplesVote initiative from Corbyn's team should ring alarm bells for anyone who values democracy
& transparency, inside Labour or outside. He is and will always be an authoritarian
2) you can argue back and forth on whether a #PeoplesVote is strategically good, bad or horrendous for Labour, or that Corbyn's offer to work with the Tories on #Brexit is "political theatre". The fact is the new Labour position is the exact opposite of what the members wanted
3) the reality is, 150 local parties submitted motions and the overwhelming majority supported a people's vote with an option to remain.
That has somehow completely transformed into a Labour offer to compromise the 6 tests for a Tory led Brexit
2) let's just look at the chronology
I) Starmer (but no one else in Leadership) talks occasionally over last 2 years about "exact same benefits" 6 tests
ii) privately, @BarryGardiner describes them as nonsense
@BarryGardiner 3) iii) in run up to conference, probably because they know there is a huge influx of CLP motions asking for an early vote, Corbyn & others start talking about the 6 tests really for the first time.
1) Great article on why #Brexit is insoluble
We can rail about respecting the vote, the EU being stubborn,May being incompetent etc all day long. The fact is it cannot be negotiated successfully, and anyone who believes otherwise is mistaken #Lab18