The in-fighting in the government and wider Tory party is worse than ever. Of course, it’s coming up to the annual party conferences. So the Westminster-bubble-politicians like Brexiteers Johnson or the stranger-than-fiction Rees-Mogg are displaying their political wares like strutting cocks.
For sure, they want to position themselves to slip into Theresa May’s leopard-print shoes. But not yet. The “negotiations” - and therefore the endless dead-ends are to be left entirely to her - but didn’t she say this herself?
So now there is the Nick Boles “chuck Chequers” faction and several sub-factions which propose variations on a theme opposing May’s proposals. But they know they’ve no chance of getting to try them out!
Because obviously there can be no solution when you want to have your cake and eat it and that goes for Theresa May as well. Whether it is a matter of the Irish border, frictionless trade with the EU, common rules or models based on Canada’s free trade deal, or whatever. Not one of them knows how to proceed in a rational fashion - but that is because politics has left the real world and does not seem to be re-entering it any time soon.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch
But the real world is where the rest of us live. Unlike these rich ruling class parasites, we cannot avoid it. And whether in Britain or anywhere else for that matter - the situation for working class people and the unemployed poor is only getting worse. Let alone if one happens to be living in a war zone in Africa or the Middle East or fleeing and taking refuge from violent oppression as millions of people are having to do right now.
In fact, as the media reminds us, it is the 10th anniversary of the world financial crisis, precipitated by the 2008 banking crash - and this crisis is still with us, dragging the capitalists down underneath all the other crises that have superimposed themselves since then! But they drag the working class down with them, of course.
The latest casualty here in Britain is Homebase - which is closing shops and putting 1,500 workers at risk. Thousands of jobs have already gone with the closures of Maplin, ToysR US, Poundworld, Mothercare, Prezzo... Plus there are thousands of further losses with the displacement of banking jobs to the EU and the ongoing job cuts in the City.
On top of all this, the 80-year-old NHS is paralysed. EU staff have left and continued funding cuts (yes the “extra” money is a joke), are slowly killing it. The scandal at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital after 40 unexplained deaths and where “staff shortage” is just one cause, speaks volumes.
So it is quite incredible to hear failed politicians like David Davis explaining that all is really well and that Brexit is doing no harm to the capitalist economy or that “project Fear Mark 3" is a lot of hoo-hah.
Apparently he hasn’t noticed that the value of the pound has still not recovered to its pre-Brexit-referendum level (despite there being no Brexit yet), or that British economic growth is lagging behind all others of similar size. The rising toll of job losses is no doubt a minor detail which does not bother him!
Blaming the eu for Brexit?
In fact the no-deal hard Brexiteers band from Westminster never miss an opportunity to accuse the EU and its negotiators of being the real cause of all these woes. And it seems that the British scallop fishermen are taking a leaf from their book!
Yes, it’s worth mentioning this “scallop war” where British fishermen tried to dredge scallops from protected beds in France, having seriously depleted scallops around the British coast with their larger boats and deep scraping methods. And by the way, if the EU rules were so limiting on British fishermen why is it that the French are only allowed to take scallops between October and May (to preserve stocks) and British boats aren’t restricted in this way?
Indeed, a lot of lies are told about “the EU”. But that is not even the issue. Today there are real questions confronting the working class - because taking control of our lives is not voting yes or no in a referendum (and not even in another one!) and then leaving it up to the politicians in Westminster (of whatever party!) to misrule us. It is about taking control now, of a wide mobilisation within our own class ranks - across all sections and nationalities - and beginning to organise the fight-back which is needed against these politicians and the exploiters whose interests they represent.
Because we should make no mistake. Whatever happens over the Brexit negotiations, whether it’s a deal or no deal, the bosses have already made their contingency plans and they will not suffer. This is a “class” question. The bill is to be passed on to us, the working class. And we have to be ready to tear it up and demand the fundamental change that we need. That is, workers’ control...