- Jan 18, 2009
- 4,885
This is not a binary issue though is it? There are Tories and Labour supporters against the EU and for a variety of different reasons.
In simple terms, most Labour Politicians in the 60s, 70s and 80s were ideologically against the EU because, amongst other things, they understood what an EU wide free labour market would mean for the British working class, that is to say their constituents.
Tories at that time (like Thatcher) were pro EU because of the potential that wider free markets that Common Market provided for British trade (and capitalists).
Spin the clock forward and the EEC has morphed into the EU, and is now a threat to British sovereignty, various treaties have created an EU executive that can impose its will on the UK without any say by the UK electorate's democratically elected representatives in the British parliament.
Back in the 80s many Tory MPs considered that this loss of sovereignty was too high a cost for a common market and so the Tories fractured on this issue. By contrast in order to be electable many Labour MPs took a more centralist internationalist political view, which ultimately lead to them jumping into bed with the monetarists and deserting the British working class. Many trade unions accepted this so long as Labour pursued social policies such as the minimum wage.
It is this blend of issues that means that marxist Bob Crowe and capitalist Nigel Farage can both be diametrically opposed politically but yet both want to exit the EU.
So, it's not de facto left and right issue, for me it's whether you hold an internationalist view and everyone regardless of their nationality is the same or whether you consider that the British state and it's citizens should be able to determine their own future..............it is the internationalist view that still holds sway, as many posts on this thread testify.
They should be more honest though, they certainly do not care about the British working class.
