Screenshot:Citizens Assembly on Brexit, Manchester, September 2017.YouTube. Fair Use.<\/i><\/p>\n
Dear friends of Another Europe Is Possible,<\/em><\/p>\n When some time ago Michael Chessum, registering my Prior to the Brexit referendum,\u00a0we campaigned together to Remain in Europe to The outcome of the Brexit Strategic disagreements Screenshot. Citizens Assembly on Brexit, Manchester, September 2017.I must applaud your <\/i><\/p>\n I need also to I also have to concede how important it was for We all believe that the Screenshot: Citizens Assembly, Manchester, September 2017.But\u00a0we <\/i><\/p>\n Jeremy Corbyn insists Considering the necessary obligations for Time of course is of the Screenshot: Citizens Assembly, Manchester, September 2017. YouTube. Above all More than this, a democratic decision concerning A People\u2019s Debate, Screenshot: Citizens Assembly, Manchester, September 2017.Without a People\u2019s <\/i><\/p>\n Do we really want to offer the British people the This is why DiEM25 has An original version of this article was published on Medium on December 6, 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Screenshot:Citizens Assembly on Brexit, Manchester, September 2017.YouTube. Fair Use. Dear friends of Another Europe Is Possible, When some time ago Michael Chessum, registering my skepticism about a second referendum, asked me a very fair next question \u201cSo what is DiEM25\u2019s position on Brexit\u201d?\u200a \u2013\u200a we may not have been as clear as we are today….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nskepticism about a second referendum, asked me a very fair next question \u201cSo what is DiEM25\u2019s position on Brexit\u201d?\u200a \u2013\u200a we may not have been as clear
\nas we are today. So I\u2019m writing in the hope that my answer may be of interest
\nto you and to those who follow us.<\/p>\n
\nchange it: a principled, articulate position which brought together the
\nBritish Left and progressives throughout Europe, from John McDonnell and
\nCaroline Lucas to Yanis Varoufakis, yourselves and ourselves.<\/p>\n
\nreferendum\u00a0and
\nthe dramatic political developments which followed it,\u00a0have instead created huge divisions among
\nprogressives, despite having to face in Britain the transformation of
\nthe UK Conservatives into the \u201cBrexit means Brexit\u201d party (a self-serving
\ndelusion presiding over a democracy-free zone process) and in the wider world,
\nTrump and the rise of the \u201cnational international\u201d (a coalition of dangerously
\nanti-democratic forces).<\/p>\n
\nare natural in the face of a historical strategic defeat\u00a0like the referendum outcome,
\nand the tasks of moving forwards under these conditions necessarily much more
\nuphill. But an empowering democratic debate taking into full consideration not
\nonly the causes of the defeat, but also the opportunities that arise for a new,
\nand maybe more profound form of political transformation, should bring us
\ntogether again.<\/p>\n
\ndecision to transform Another Europe is possible into a member-led democratic
\norganisation\u00a0and the timing of your decision. Never before has the task to
\ndemocratize every level of British politics been more urgent or the challenge
\nto create inclusive dialogue around the country more pressing. So I would like
\nto wish you an excellent launch for this exciting new journey that you are on.<\/p>\n
\ncongratulate you on your brilliant work to expose the contradictions of
\nBrexit\u00a0within the British Left. DiEM25 dedicated every sinew we possessed at
\nthe time of the referendum to campaigning with you against Brexit but you have
\nbeen able to transform what was once the fairly complex argument of a vocal
\nfringe (\u201cstay in Europe to change it\u201d or as Yanis Varoufakis used to put it \u201cin
\nthe EU against this EU\u201d) into a hegemonising message at the 2018 Labour
\nconference, with the ubiquitous \u201cLove Corbyn, hate Brexit\u201d placards shifting
\nthe internal narrative by a visible margin.<\/p>\n
\nyou, Caroline Lucas and many others in the Left to shape from a progressive
\nstandpoint the developing debate on the \u2018People\u2019s Vote\u2019, focusing on the
\nbackstage dealing of the government negotiating strategy and on a progressive
\ncritique of what it has so far achieved. You deserve a lot of credit <\/strong>for moving <\/strong>remainers so far on
\nfrom the disastrous official remain campaign of 2016.<\/p>\n
\ndeal negotiated by Theresa May is terrible, in method and motive, in the dangers it poses to
\nworkers\u2019 rights, environmental protections, human rights and freedom to move
\nand for the damage it can produce to our social model. We all agree that we
\nmust work together to exert the maximum pressure towards its defeat, whenever
\nit finally comes to Parliament.<\/p>\n
\nneed to be equally clear about our disagreement\u00a0at this critical
\njuncture of the roller-coaster that is the Brexit process. For us the mode of
\ndelivery of a \u2018People\u2019s Vote\u2019 cannot work from a progressive perspective.<\/p>\n
\nthat \u201ca People\u2019s vote is not an option for the present\u201d. We think he is right. To have a meaningful effect
\na People\u2019s Vote, that is, any referendum on the deal with an option to remain,
\nneeds to happen well ahead of 29 March 2019, when the article 50 current
\ndeadline is bound to conclude the Brexit saga.<\/p>\n
\nimplementing a referendum, allowing for an electoral campaign of at least one
\nmonth and before that presumably organising the electoral machine, this should
\nbe announced not later than mid-January for the referendum to be held in mid
\nMarch. But before such an announcement can be made, legislation must be passed
\nboth at the House of Commons and at the House of Lords and a referendum bill
\nnot yet drafted must be approved in both houses. Unfortunate as it might be,
\nwith Parliament shut down for Christmas and in the face of a looming
\nconstitutional crisis, is there any possibility that this process could be
\ncompleted in less than one month?<\/p>\n
\nessence, and not just time to follow the rules which govern our voting system.\u00a0Democracy is also about
\ntaking the time to take complex decisions without a gun to our heads. <\/p>\n
\nit is about a meaningful debate, which gives every citizen a chance to gather
\nall the information they need about all the viable major options currently
\navailable\u200a\u2014\u200aat least four at the last count. It
\nrequires time for citizens to listen to each other and to persuade each other
\nif they can. And we should give people that time. We have heard a lot about the
\npreparations needed for businesses to adapt and for trade deals to occur, but
\nalmost nothing about the time for citizens, leavers and remainers alike to
\nexplore \u2018the deal\u2019 and all its possible alternatives.\u00a0We must allow democracy the time it deserves,
\nbut time is running out very fast for a proper democratic debate, with more
\nfacts and much clearer options. Nor can we trust the government to take the
\nbreak from Brexit that we need to stand back together, and choose our common
\nfuture carefully.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nthe fundamental constitutional questions raised by Brexit, requires citizens
\nnot only to choose the best answer to the question, but also to shape the
\ndebate by framing the questions themselves or, as political theorist and
\ndemocracy activist Stuart White put it, in 2015:\u00a0\u201cDemocratic theory
\nsays that this is a time when \u2018We the people\u2019 have a right to settle what
\nhappens precisely because what is at stake is a set of very basic questions
\nabout how we are ruled.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\nproperly informed and accessible, inclusive and empowering, must precede a
\nPeople\u2019s Vote if it is to be a meaningful choice.\u00a0Neal Lawson and more recently
\nGordon Brown, recognising the limits of parliamentary decision-making, have
\ncalled for a \u201cunique consultation\u201d, a multi-faceted process of exchange that
\n\u201cby opening a dialogue across the country and engaging in a constructive,
\noutward-looking conversation about our future\u201d might help us discover \u201ca road
\nback to a more cohesive country, reuniting around shared values and
\nrediscovered common interests\u201d (\u201cTo calm the Brexit storm, we must listen to the UK\u2019s views
\nagain\u201d, Financial Times,16 November, also Gordon Brown on Brexit.)<\/p>\n
\ndebate, a People\u2019s vote is bound to be a rerun of the referendum binary
\nnarrative, hopefully
\nframed in better terms (but how, while the government is run by Theresa May?),
\nwhose best possible outcome is to impose on a significant minority the 2016
\nstatus quo which was already then untenable to a significant majority.<\/p>\n
\nchoice to restore our old EU membership perhaps even including the detrimental
\nchanges that David Cameron negotiated in 2016, in his desperate attempt to win
\nenough votes in June: a draconian form of \u201cfree\u201d movement with strong
\nlimitations on access to welfare and stronger deportation powers for the UK
\ngovernment? Shouldn\u2019t we be arguing for precisely the opposite line of march so
\nthat we can influence in a positive direction the Europe we want to see?
\nWithout a proper People\u2019s Debate on immigration and all the other key issues,\u00a0<\/strong>a People\u2019s Vote will never bring about
\nanother Europe.<\/p>\n
\nnot signed up to a People\u2019s Vote. We at DiEM25 believe instead that the way forward
\nis to delay and democratise Brexit.<\/p>\n