In my post for April 8, you can see a letter I
sent to my (Labour) councillors asking for their advice on who I should vote
for in the local elections in view of my belief that Brexit is the worst
problem facing local government.
Below is a councillor’s reply, and my
reply to him. As you can see, his response has convinced me that it would be
wrong to vote for Labour (or any other Brexit-supporting party, e.g. Conservative)
at the local elections.
Dear John,
Apologies, but I had to forward this to my personal email as we cannot
use council emails for party political purposes.
I agree that the impacts of Brexit will be signficant. Particularly for
our poorest communities in the UK. Ironically, often where the vote for Brexit
was the strongest.
In Camden we have thousands of non-UK EU citizens who live and work
here. I’m extremely proud of this fact, and to have a number of non-UK EU
citizens as fellow cllrs. Camden has the gateway to Europe, via the Eurostar.
And a large number of public services and sectors (like the tech industry) rely
on the benefits we have through EU membership.
Our manifesto which will be published Tuesday will make a strong
statement, that Camden Labour will campaign to protect the rights of EU
citizens, and to have the strongest possible links with Europe.
In terms of practical measures, we will produce advice and support to
citizens living here, work with the Mayor and continue to lobby and campaign so
that no deal can be agreed without it having democratic legitimacy.
Angela and I voted Remain, and believe strongly in the benefits of EU
membership, economical, politically and socially.
Best wishes,
Danny
Dear Councillor Beales,
Thank you for your very prompt response. I have thought carefully about
what you say, but I will not be voting Labour at the local elections, nor at
any other election until the party starts wholeheartedly opposing Brexit.
The measures you outline are essentially designed to mitigate the
worst effects of Brexit, but any Brexit of any kind will be less good for the
people of the UK (with the possible exception of a small number of the very
rich) than remaining in the EU, and, as you yourself, admit, the people who
will be most damaged are those Labour is supposed to care most about.
The only way to 'have the strongest possible links with Europe' is to
stay in the EU.
I'm quite old, and UK politicians have made plenty of mistakes in my
life time, but Brexit is by far the worst. Labour is making a terrible mistake
by not fighting this act of national self-harm. If it does not have a rapid
change of heart, historians of the future will treat the party very
harshly, and rightly so.
Yours sincerely,
John Withington
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