Appeal: Be part of Europe – join the European Left!
London Stands Together demo
Britain faces a deep political crisis following the Referendum. The far right is resurgent, the Conservative Party is heading in a more right-wing direction, Jeremy Corbyn faces a coup from within his own party, and there has been a significant increase in racist and xenophobic abuse.
Millions of us want to resist this turn to the right, to oppose the wave of racism, before it takes our country further down the road to a polarised, prejudiced future – as the countless protests, petitions and conversations since the result show. Left Unity shares that determination to fight for an alternative, with a different vision of society – not confined to Britain, but embracing Europe, and beyond.
Front and centre, we place opposition to neo-liberalism – the economic policies which have led to the extremes of wealth and poverty that exist within our societies. It is the free market policies, the privatisation and deregulation that have been chosen by successive governments that have led to unemployment, poverty and homelessness. Migrants are not responsible – they enrich our country, not take away from it, and we welcome them. We will expose the ‘divide and rule’ lies, fighting for the rights of all workers – wherever they come from – and for a living wage and secure contracts for all.
We fight for peace, justice and equality, and against all forms of discrimination. We are socialist, feminist and environmentalist. These are huge ambitions in today’s political climate but all the more urgent to support for that very reason, as our rights on all these fronts are coming under attack. These are not ambitions that we can achieve alone, here in Britain: because the problems that we face cannot be solved on a national basis.
But we do not have to fight alone. Many parties, movements and trade unions across Europe share this vision and are working together across Europe. Successes vary, and the struggle is hard, but joining together is going to make progress possible. Common action and shared strategies will make us more effective as we face the same problems.
Left Unity is part of the European Left Party, founded in 2004, drawing together parties from over 20 European countries. While they take us out of Europe we will fight to defend all that was positive – for free movement. We remain part of Europe and organise together, in solidarity, with workers and communities across Europe. From Wigan to Warsaw, from London to Lisbon, Birmingham to Barcelona, we can link our struggles for democracy, for universal healthcare, for housing, for decent wages and trade union rights.
We invite all those who share our perspective, to join us, to work with us, as part of the European Left.
info@leftunity.org
15 comments
15 responses to “Appeal: Be part of Europe – join the European Left!”
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I am already an individual member and was glad that LU recently became a national member. However, it does not look good when the EL website is so out of date that it does not list us as being so. Could LU please press the Brussels HQ of EL to change it as soon as possible.
Bob Arnott (Secretary, LU Oxford Branch)
Good idea! I’ll join – as long as this doesn’t preclude belonging to the Labour Party, which I’ve just re-joined to support Jerey Corbyn.
I’m a member of the Green Party – I renewed my membership yesterday because of Natalie Bennett’s letter to urge an alliance of parties against the conservatives & Ukip. Is it possible that Left Unity can also become part of this alliance, bringing in the support of the European unions in a massive fight back?
you have my full support.
Terry, just a suggestion. Totally agree with everything you have written and well put. After reading this article, it doesn’t give you anywhere to go, at least obviously. Just two quick suggestions for the end of the article. 1 – Would it be an idea to have this link at the bottom of the article? http://www.european-left.org and 2 – I think a “join left unity” button to click right at the end of the article would be good too. The first suggestion is the most important I would have thought. Kind regards, Gary ps – just a thought. Getting Corbyn to join LU?
Given the huge support that Corbyn has amongst the Labour rank and file, would it not make more sense for LU members (when possible) to join the Labour Party?
…rather than Corbyn joining LU.
I am disheartened by the selfish, xenophobic, majority of our British people – all sense of morality has disappeared with our more comfortable living standards and with the inescapable influence of capitalist media. Further, I think the name of the Labour Party needs to be changed as it misleading and out of date. I support Jeremy Corbyn’s principles.
as a Member in Birmingham Branch since LU held its first Meeting with Ken Loach, Kate Hudson etc speaking, I immediately joined giving my Annual subscription rather than pay monthly of merely £6.00 as I am not a ‘spring chicken’ any longer. It was after a long gap since Tony Blair invaded Iraq when I soon left Labour Party like many did. I wanted nothing to do with political parties! I am proud to say that I am still a ‘friend’ of Jeremy Corbyn and twit him often. I am accepted as a ‘volunteer’ and am on the list of Nation Builder under the umbrella of LU and regularly receive Momentum. Please join us asap. We wanted UK to ‘REMAIN’ within EU.
Bhatia, hello. I would love to meet. I re- joined Labour. I am a member. I waited for a shift in Ideology, aka Jeremy. I was involved in Labour 1988 to 1999. I resigned, due to Blair. I am old now, and disillusioned, but was moved by what you said. I took the Milibandian, theoretical position, that a Socialist party must be formed, and wrote extensively on the subject, primarily because my tutor was Ralph Miliband. This is now proven with the constant objective of the “PLP”, to discredit Jeremy. We must form a left socialist Coalition, not necessarily a party. Political Parties, with a “left” agenda, following Althusser, cannot form a society for the good of the collective, in a society that is dominated by an ideology which is conservative.(do not confuse this with the Conservative party) Althusser, speaks of modes of production, and Ideological State Apparatuses. The Political Party System, is structurally redundant. It will never, return a Labour Government within the parameters of a Political system, known as First Past the post.You have my permission to contact the Labour party if you want my address. I live in Chesterfield. Dennis Skinner knows me. I say this, because I wish you to feel safe, about who I am. Chris Carter.
Brilliant! Can someone please answer the question about multi-party membership? It’s the only thing holding me back. I’m a full member of the Labour Party.
The Labour Party does not allow dual membership although we do. However we have set up a separate category of association with Left Unity called ‘the Friends of Left Unity’ ie people who wish to stay in the LP and fight for Jeremy but wish to support some specific aspects of our work. Please email info@leftunity.org if you require further information.
As NATO now is the organisation conneting the UK to Europe, the 2% of GNP demand should opposed. It is not in the interest of the left to support a US dominated military alliance as NATO.
It surprises me feminism, racism and environment are specifically mentioned, but one of the current core issues ‘peace’ isn’t.
No austerity, no to 2% of GNP for NATO.
Your claims that the far-right is resurgent, at least as far as this island is concerned, is both alarmist and runs counter to the evidence presented by the far-right monitoring group “Hope Not Hate”, which states the far-right are in disarray, not resurgence.
Given their narrative has been adopted by the main opportunist parties, this is of no surprise.
What is needed re Europe is a program that breifly states what we are fighting for. This cannot be a statement such as used in the article above: “We are socialist, feminist and environmentalist.” This is a timeless banality taht will put-off many. On Europe the two main slogans must be:
1. A United States of Europe
2. A European Constituent Assembly
The first slogan is not for a SOCIALIST United States of Europe of the indefinite future.
The second slogan addresses the question of the “democratic deficit” which exists in the EU, as well, of course, also in every single state of Europe. The bureaucrats of Brussells are bad, but so are the unelected mandarins of Whitehall.