EU referendum

EU referendum

• No centrist surge, but a fragmenting Europe: European elections explained

  

  European politics is increasingly fragmented, which poses important challenges but also opportunities for the radical left, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• No confidence in May, and no confidence in this failing government: a general election is the only option

  

  This government is sustained by class hatred alone.  But they are weak and we must keep up the pressure for a general election

• Brexit: the uncivil war - review

  

  Channel 4's feature-length drama on the EU referendum presents voters as dupes but also shows the cluelessness of the establishment, argues Martin Hall

• The establishment seems to have forgotten we live in a parliamentary democracy: let's remind them

  

  We must demand a general election to resolve this crisis, argues Chris Nineham

• Whether Theresa May wins or loses this no confidence vote, her time is up

  

  There is no clear way out for May, and only one solution for the country - she has got to go

• The Tories are incapable of delivering Brexit: we must push them out and do it ourselves

  

  A number of contradictions are causing the Tories to lose grip; Reuben Bard-Rosenberg looks at why they have no clear way of holding on

• May's deal is dead: this is what must happen next

  

  Only a general election can break the impasse, and to make it happen we need to get out on the streets and pile the pressure on, argues Martin Hall

• Equating fascism with Brexit is disastrous, irresponsible and gives a hand up to Tommy Robinson

  

  Arguments tying opposition to fascism with opposition to Brexit makes out half the country as Tommy Robinson supporters. This is idiotic in the extreme, argues Kevin Ovenden

• Stop Tommy Robinson, All out for 17 November - Counterfire Freesheet November 2018

  

  Opposing the far right, people's vote, police racism, precarious workers, climate chaos, universal credit and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• EU summit: nothing much happens, but the crisis continues

  

  Little progress was made in the Brexit negotiations, and Tory MPs are losing patience with May, finds Martin Hall

• Learnt nothing and forgotten everything: the next crash is coming - weekly briefing

  

  Finance capital is a game for the rich and when it goes wrong it's our side who are expected to pay the price, argues Lindsey German

• The TUC are wrong about a second referendum

  

  A second referendum would be a disaster for the working people the TUC are supposed to represent, argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg

• Brexit and the left, two years on

  

  The left should not avoid political struggle, it should actively work to shape the outcomes of political crisis argues David Bush

• After the final days of May

  

  This is the start of a new phase of the crisis, not the end of it, writes John Rees

• Theresa May tries to unite party with vacuous Brexit speech

  

  Theresa May has attempted to trump Jeremy Corbyn's Brexit speech but she still has no credibility

• What does Corbyn's Brexit speech really mean?

  

  Jeremy Corbyn has outlined the Labour party's position on Brexit - in particular, regarding the customs union - Martin Hall breaks it down

• The second coming of the referendum

  

  Calls for a second Brexit referendum, from the unholy confluence of establishment Remain and Farage, must be resisted by all the left, argues Martin Hall

• Can Vince Cable save the Lib Dems?

  

  What does the future hold for the party?

• Lindsey German takes on Blair on Brexit on Sky News - video

  

  Tony Blair says it is 'absolutely necessary' that Brexit doesn't go ahead. Lindsey German has her say

• Brexit: division and unity on the Left

  

  Brexit gives us a unique opportunity. Let's take it

• Class is back - the Scottish Question must be recast

  

  Class is back - for it to advance requires anti-capitalist politics, not the frontist politics of being to the left of whatever seems like a temporary solution to a fundamental dilemma, writes Kevin Ovenden

• Lindsey German debates Brexit on Sky News - video

  

  Lindsey German debates the issues surrounding Brexit with Michael Gove and others on Sky News

• Counterfire’s top ten hits of the year

  

  John Rees looks back on the most read Counterfire articles of 2016

• Next stop… the People’s Brexit

  

  The missteps of the ruling class can create space for our side, notes Lindsey German 

• Hard vs soft Brexit: a Tory party crisis

  

  Divisions and rifts run rife in the Conservative Party as they try to figure out what "Brexit means Brexit" actually means explains Chris Bambery

• Socialist Register 2016: The Politics of the Right

  

  The rise of the populist right shows that the centre cannot hold, and a socialist alternative is the only solution, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Jeremy Corbyn's new politics is a threat to the establishment

  

  This moment offers an opportunity for radical change, but the path to victory lies in political confrontation, argues Kevin Ovenden

• Brexit from afar: a view from the Balkans

  

  Dragan Plavšić offers an alternative take on Britain’s decision to leave the EU, the rise in racist incidents, and considers parallels with Yugoslavia 

• The fight is on - help us hit our campaign target

  

  We need your help to finance the resistance

• Why we voted leave: voices from northern England - documentary

  

  A short look at why those in the north of England mainly voted to leave the EU - from Guerrera Films

• Only a Corbyn victory can open a path out of the crisis

  

  The post-referendum crisis can only be resolved by the left, argues John Rees

• Mobilising against shameful Labour coup

  

  While Jeremy resists pressure on him to resign, Lindsey German argues we must organise to support him

• Strategy beyond the referendum

  

  As the established order falls apart, Chris Bambery argues how the left should respond

• How the left should deal with the referendum results

  

  With many of the old political certainties breaking up, Lindsey German argues that the left have to rise to the challenge.

• UK after the rain

  

  Shabbir Lakha looks beyond the media blizzard surrounding last week’s referendum result and identifies anti-racist work as a campaigning imperative

• This vote was about far more than immigration

  

  The vote to leave the EU was fuelled by class divisions, argues Alastair Stephens

• End austerity - general election now! Lexit statement on leave vote

  

  As the UK votes to leave the EU, let's take the fight to the Tories

• Looking beyond the Referendum

  

  Whatever the outcome, the left will have to unite after the referendum to fight against racism, austerity and war argues Lindsey German.

• The EU is no friend to refugees

  

  The EU is has a terrible record on it's treatment of refugees, argues Shabbir Lakha

• Getting ready for the 24th

  

  After a bleak week, Lindsey German surveys the pre-referendum terrain and offers some starting points for future campaigning

• Brexit, the economy, immigration and the Labour Party

  

  Where are the economic arguments for anti-austerity and a new equality across Europe, asks Brian Heron

• Why African-Caribbeans should vote for a Left Exit from the EU

  

  As well as the EU's role in economic and social devastation in Africa, minority ethnic groups in Europe bear the brunt of EU austerity argues Kwesi Adabunu

• Don't thank the EU for equal pay

  

  The principle of equal pay was won through struggle, writes Lindsey German

• In or out: what is the future for British capitalism?

  

  Whichever way the vote goes on 23 June, Chris Bambery argues we all need to come together to resist austerity and racism

• EU referendum: a growing sense of panic

  

  A vote to leave the EU seems a distinct possibility, and anti-capitalists need to ready for what lies ahead, writes Chris Bambery

• Should we stay or should we go?

  

  Alex Gordon, convenor of Lexit – The Left Leave Campaign and former president of the RMT trade union, talks to Counterfire about the upcoming EU referendum

• Things fall apart

  

  The EU referendum is just one of many problems facing our rulers

• Catching up with Portugal: the nature of English decline

  

  50 years ago England beat Portugal in the ’66 World Cup Final but Mark Perryman argues English decline has left England racing to keep up with their Euro rivals

• Unions: the EU offers us nothing

  

  Many trade unionists will be voting to leave the EU in the upcoming referendum. An ASLEF, BFAWU and RMT statement explains why

• The courage of conviction: why a tactical 'remain' vote makes no sense

  

  Vladimir Unkovski-Korica points out the glaring contradictions in Paul Mason's argument to boycott the EU referendum

• The dying days of a dying regime

  

  These are end times for David Cameron’s rule, but our side still has to act, argues Chris Bambery

• Switching sides: how some of the left bought the EU dream

  

  The EU is an enemy of working people, as well as those fleeing poverty and war. Now more than ever, the labour movement must advocate to leave

• The EU referendum and the Left

  

  Obama's remarks have shown that the EU is a constraint on anything democratic and popular that may fall foul of the capitalist class, writes Alex Snowdon

• Debunked: 12 left-wing reasons for remaining in the European Union

  

  The referendum is not a vote on whether we want to be ‘part of Europe’. It's a vote on an institution that has done far more harm than good

• EU referendum: how did we get here?

  

  The Tories are in trouble – and it will get worse for them if the referendum delivers a vote to leave the EU, writes Alex Snowdon

• Tory crisis: a class moment for the left

  

  If the left fails to make headway in the coming ten weeks, it will be because we fail to be as radical as reality itself, writes Kevin Ovenden

• The EU: ratcheting up racism

  

  As the EU referendum draws closer, and the Tories split further, Chris Bambery looks at why the debate is not the orgy of racism that so many predicted

• Left anti-EU campaign launched

  

  Shabbir Lakha reports from the first anti-EU meeting organised by the left. This needs to be the start of a concerted campaign

• Undemocratic and irreformable: why we must vote to leave the EU

  

  As the Tories descend into civil war, we argue that a vote to leave the EU would be a blow against the neoliberal order 

• Brexit: In or Out? Podcast

  

  Lindsey German and Marina Prentoulis join James Butler and Aaron Bastani to discuss Britain's forthcoming referendum on EU membership

• Europe and socialist strategy

  

  Kevin Ovenden examines the various politics strategies on offer from the European left

• Why anti-capitalists should be anti-EU

  

  Chris Bambery explains why the left has to oppose the EU, which is a neoliberal and unreformable institution

• Carta a favor da saída da Grã Bretanha da União Europeia

  

  This is a Portuguese translation of the letter by trade unionists and socialists in favour of an exit from the EU

• 5 reasons to leave the EU

  

  The EU referendum will be held on 23 June. There are many reasons why Britain should leave the EU. Alastair Stephens lists just five

• For a Europe of peoples

  

  The EU is fundamentally undemocratic and cannot be reformed, argues Chris Bambery

• No to Fortress Europe: solidarity with refugees and migrants

  

  While the War on Terror has destroyed the Middle East, it has also been the source of racism across Europe

• A troubled relationship: the UK and the EU

  

  Chris Bambery takes a look at the UK's troubled relationship with the EU, both in the past and in the present

• Another Europe is necessary

  

  We cannot be neutral with regard to the upcoming referendum on EU membership. If Britain votes to stay in, we will be effectively signing up to all of Europe’s neoliberal strictures for another generation

• 5 reasons why we should vote to leave the EU

  

  John Westmoreland argues that the European Union cannot be reformed and calls for a ‘No’ vote in the EU referendum

• Migrants, war and the European Union

  

  Chris Nineham goes beyond the sensationalist newspaper front pages to explain the real issues around migration and what is driving it