The Guardian editorial this morning reflects on the EU Leave vote and concludes:
Britain could not be in more serious times
I recommend what it has to say: it is a sober and sound conclusion on where we stand and the forces that have been unleashed in this country which no one, least of all Johnson and Gove, have any clue how to control.
Yesterday my heart sunk.
Today I am profoundly worried.
As I have already noted, whether we will have an economic crisis cannot be known as yet. But as every reader of this blog must, I hope, know I do not think that the economy is the be all and end all of life. My concern spreads much more widely: people have been persuaded to 'give back control' to an elite whose goal is to suppress the interests and remove the rights of those who have voted for them.
Some can, and I am sure will, leave. The idea of Irish reunification is now not nearly as remote as I would have imagined just two days ago. Scotland will now leave the Union, the only question is when. But what of that which is left?
As I discussed here yesterday, and with others during the day yesterday, this volatile situation could provide the opportunity we need for real change exploiting what is left of English and Welsh economic strength (I can't see Wales going, yet). That is what I will be working on. But the scale of the task is enormous. We really are in serious times.
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Is there anyway you could possibly clarify where this £250 billion from the BOE will end up where it has come from and what could have done instead with regard to your comments about PFI and Student loans with a blog
I think I understand the fundamentals of QE but would like to be able to articulate it better when discussing the economic situation with hardline outers who unlike you and me are not worried about the economic future especially as the FTSE100 did not fall by that much
Obviously the FTSE250 did as well as foreign markets and Japanese Carmakers and Banks.
Let me see what I can do
The ability to use QE funding without the need for QE is one of the few silver linings of Brexit
Sorry forgot to tick the Notify Box
The Brexit vote in England and Wales (which swamped the remain majorities in NI and Scotland) is the result of the conjuncture of revolts against the “establishment” — however it might be perceived — by two tribes. The first is existing and former core Tory supporters; the second is their Labour counterparts. Unhappy families, as Tolstoy observed, are each unhappy in their own ways. It will take a long time to sort this out, but it is a long overdue application of the democratic process.
Those exercising power and influence — and the army of lawyers, consultants, accountants, advisers, pliant media types, tame academics, PR operatives and other functionaries who serve them while advancing their own interests — who capture, and who facilitate the capture by others interest groups of, sustained economic rents become so greedy and stupid that they fail to grasp and respond to the public disgust and anger they arouse — until it is too late.
It is unfortunate that so many voters who had good reason to be disgusted and angered allowed their anger to be misdirected and seized such a self-harming instrument – a vote to exit the EU – to express their anger and disgust. But the purgative democratic effect is long overdue and politicians must now deal with the outcome.
At the risk of appearing a self serving academic and accountant I have to agree and disagree
I agree neoliberalism has failed and people are angry
I do not agree that this was the way to do it
There might be a point in what Paul says, Richard, that the fact the ‘anger’ has been allowed a voice (even a very mis-directed one) might have a determine effect that we can’t as yet see.
If there is a silver lining it might be this:
1) The 1% know the anger is there in an inchoate way.
2) Something positive MUST be delivered otherwise the anger will start to find its real target.
3) Internal devaluation and more hammering of the unemployed/ill can’t happen now, I think. That game is up and has been pushed to its limits.
I may be VERY wrong! I sincerely hope I’m not.
Wales were net gainers from EU and will be looking to Westminster to make up the shortfall. Prepare for an English/Welsh fracture to develop.
The Barnet formula is already in the frame, I note
‘We really are in serious times.’
Agreed. But we were anyway. Ken Livingstone rightly pointed out that Gove/Johnson will be an utter disaster-BUT once we can clearly see, without spin-doctoring to hide it, that these people are are the null set, empty vessels spouting guff THEN change can be made.
It’s all a bit like a recap of the 19th Century-perhaps Nietzsche was right about the ‘eternal repetition of the same.’
Interestingly, despite the crappy BBC treating Johnson like royalty, RT filmed him coming out of his house yesterday where police had to restrain a crowd showering the arrogant bar steward with invective. What scares me is that there is a large white working class contingent that seems to venerate such characters, a sort of atavism at play here connected with a nostalgia for servility before one’s ‘betters’. And all those 19th Century struggles to get beyond this sort of thing and look where we are.
Simon,
Have you read this? http://www.fabians.org.uk/brexit-voters-not-the-left-behind/
That article seems confused to me when it talks about an authoritarian/libertarian divide. libertarian has a specific meaning in economic ideology and is more represented by the Brexit Camp, particularly UKIP’s Douglas Carswell.
Although I agree that Brexit is not a simple block of disenfranchised White working class.
Libertarian can be a left wing concept
I agree Richard. My views in general are considered my my friends and fellow activists as traditionally ‘left wing’. However I have long felt that the left/right axis obscures as much as it illuminates. I think much more in terms of authoritarian/libertarian concepts, and find it much more useful. Anarchists and free marketeers have much in common I think. I found this article fascinating. We need to look for new language to help steer us through these difficult times.
Oh, and I note that LabourLeave was funded by conservative donors and VoteLeave (Johnson, Gove and IDS).
The Labour party is going to have to stop fighting itself, and stop fighting fair. Dirty politics wins is the clear message.They better get to the states and get some hints on fighting to win, and soon.
Agreed-if Labour don’t get behind Corbyn/McDonell-that’s it-finito, finished.
This is what most worries me. For the Labour Party this is an existential crisis. If Corbyn is pushed out most of us won’t know where to go. It may be that the bastards don’t care how many members leave and will hold onto their seats for a while and the Party name, but the formation of new socialist party would have to be considered. This will, course, leave the tories and kippers in total power for decades. The LP desperately needs to change the rule book, but this cannot be done by CLPs until next year’s conference. Only the NEC can do this at this year’s conference and we fear that the new NEC members will be drawn from the right-wing this time. I tried in vain to get my CLP to realise what they were doing when they nominated two candidates who are anti-Corbyn.