Hundreds of thousands, maybe a million, protesters flooded into London, last Saturday, to demand a new "People's vote" to end the Brexit quagmire produced by years of Tory in-fighting.
Contrary to claims by the right-wing press, these protesters were not just "Remoaners". Some protesters were former Leave voters demanding the "right to change our minds", now that they've seen in practice what Brexit really means. Meanwhile, almost six million people have signed an online petition arguing for the Brexit process to be reversed.
Either way, demonstrators and petitioners have expressed their rejection of an increasingly chaotic, divisive Brexit process, which cannot and will not lead the majority of the population anywhere - except to the wall! They've had enough of the politicians' Brexit saga, of their lies and deception and of their self-serving irresponsibility. They want it to be known - and they are right!
The system's deaf ears and hot air
Not that this massive rejection of the Brexit chaos has changed May's policy in the slightest. The in-fighting between her party's warring factions, which has been driving the Brexit saga for years now, continues - as if nothing had happened at all, outside of the Westminster bubble. And the political system remains just as paralysed - as it has been since January, when May first put her withdrawal deal to a vote in the Commons.
The only perceptible difference is that May's past autocratic posturing has been replaced by a flurry of procedural tricks. We are told that these tricks are meant to allow Parliament to have a say in shaping the Brexit process, rather than leaving it entirely to May and to her Tory factions.
But isn't this ironical? Here we have a Parliament for whom Brexit was supposed to be a means of "reclaiming its sovereignty from Brussels". And what these politicians are showing us now, is that actually, if they ever had a problem with "sovereignty", it was with Downing Street!
So much so that, MPs have to use these obscure tricks just to vote on options other than those offered by May - and, even then, without their votes being binding on the government! And at the same time, May is said to be bargaining for her seat with Tory hardliners, in return for their votes!
In other words, what we see via the "live coverage" of the Commons' "heated debates" and spectacular turns in the Brexit process - all that is just pure unadulterated hot air, designed to con the rest of us into believing that, somehow, our opinions are being taken into account.
Putting forward our class interests
So, what actually happens in the Commons, today, tomorrow, or in the coming weeks, is not the issue for the working class majority of the population. For us, the real issue is how we go about defending our collective interests, against the bosses' greed and against the irresponsibility of their politicians.
That there is nothing for us to gain from Brexit, has been demonstrated again and again, ever since the referendum. The Brexiteers' deceptions have long been exposed: whether it be their fairy tales about the affluent future awaiting the British economy, once "freed" from the EU, or their outright lies over the alleged "necessity" to end the free movement of labour from the EU.
The very idea that, in this age of space travel, “progress” could possibly mean preventing the planet's population from moving freely, by tightening national borders, is total nonsense! Just as it is total nonsense for the island of Britain, whose economy has long been shaped by its relationship with the rest of the world, to suddenly decide to break the myriads of life-sustaining ties it has built with Europe!
Those who stand to pay the most for this colossal deficit are workers. From BMW and Nissan to Honda and Futjitsu, the bosses have shown how they intend to use Brexit to reorganise their production on our backs. And at some point, this government or the next one will turn to us, whining about the "unbearable" cost of the Brexit process and tell us that we will have to foot the bill. New attacks against us will follow.
When that happens, we will need to be ready to face up to it, as a class. Our collective demands haven't been heard in the streets, during the recent protests. But it is essential that they should be. The politicians who are only interested in our votes, always talk about what they call "the People". But we have our own class interests to defend, which have nothing in common with those of the capitalist leaders of the mainstream parties, who, together with their shareholders, are also part of "the People"!
This is why we need our own working class political organisation - a workers’ party - to ensure that, instead of being drowned in the anonymity of "the People", the distinct voice of the working class can be heard loud and clear!