Roundtable: The European left after Brexit.

AuthorColfer, Barry
PositionCRISIS POLITICS - Discussion

An international discussion of the impact of Brexit and the prospects for the left

From the Editors: the dangers of parochialism

Like that of Britain as a whole, Labour's debate on Brexit has been strikingly insular. It has not recognised the impact of Brexit on European sister-parties, is not interested in the nature of our neighbours' varying commitments to the European project, and has consequently not even begun to reckon with likely responses to British negotiating positions. As we argued in our previous editorial, this represents a missed opportunity to resist the gathering forces of right-wing nationalism and steal a march on the farcical diplomacy of the Conservatives. Renewal has since sought to open a dialogue with younger left thinkers and activists from across the continent, regarding the future of Europe and Britain's place within it. This is very much a work in progress. We would welcome responses from any of our readers who would like to continue the conversation, in these pages or on our blog at www.renewal.org.uk.

James Stafford and Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite are co-editors of Renewal.

Other than the UK, Ireland has the most to lose

Barry Colfer

Other than the UK, the country that will be most directly affected by the UK exit from the EU is Ireland. 250,000 UK citizens live in Ireland, second in Europe only to Spain, and 380,000 Irish citizens live in the UK, the number one destination in the EU for Irish citizens. The volume of trade between Ireland and the UK runs at over [euro]1 billion a week, making Ireland the UK's 5th largest market, and the UK exports more to Ireland than it does to China, India and Brazil combined. (1) Up to 6.7 million people in the UK could be entitled to an Irish passport as many in the UK seek to secure their status as EU citizens, a significant number given Ireland's population of 4.8 million.2 Given these strong, centuries-old connections between these islands, it is clear that the consequences of 'Brexit' for Ireland are potentially enormous.

Particularly from an Irish perspective, even the term 'Brexit' is itself problematic, as the 'exit' relates to the entire United Kingdom, which includes both Northern Ireland (which voted 56-44 per cent for remain) and Great Britain. The only land border that exists between the UK and another EU country is 500km long, and at its closest point is 95km north of Dublin. Since 1923, a common travel area has facilitated free movement across this border, and on average, more than 20,000 people cross it each day. This unique international arrangement, which pre-dates the Schengen zone by decades, is central to business, tourism, and the social fabric for people on both sides of the frontier. The re-establishment of a hard border would be a backwards step towards the dark days of the Troubles, and could negatively impact the fragile peace-process. What is at stake is the reversal of two decades of careful progress. This situation is further complicated by the recent collapse of the Northern Ireland power-sharing executive, and the calling of fresh elections in March.

Meanwhile, the potential damage posed by the UK-exit is taken seriously by politicians in Ireland, and in 2015, Taoiseach (prime minister) Enda Kenny created a government unit dedicated to developing contingency plans for a potential exit. The prospect of Brexit, and its significance for Ireland is also covered extensively in national media. It is easy to understand why. A 2015 study by the Dublin-based Economic and Social Research Institute warned that a UK-exit could reduce bilateral trade between the two countries by 20 per cent, with every 1 per cent drop in UK growth hitting Ireland by 0.3-0.4 per cent. (3) Consequent lower economic growth may have implications for Irish public finances for years to come.

Nonetheless, there are those who welcome the potential positive spillovers of 'Brexit', with the prospect of attracting jobs from the UK, particularly in financial services, given that Ireland will be the only English-speaking country in the EU, and given its young, educated workforce, stable government, and property prices that are far lower than London and many parts of the UK. Given the recent unveiling by Barclays of Dublin as its post-Brexit EU headquarters, such optimism may not be without foundation.4 As well as this, the Taoiseach is now fending off demands for a border poll from nationalists who see Brexit as an opportunity to reunite Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Every major party in the Houses of the oireachtas (Irish legislature) is in favour of European integration, and the Irish electorate remains the most pro-European in the EU. (5) While traditional mainstream parties, including the Irish Labour party, are losing ground to alternative parties of the left and Sinn Fein, Ireland is almost unique in Europe in not registering increased support for right-wing populism, despite the devastating consequences of the economic and social crisis since 2008. This is partly explained by Sinn Fein attracting the disaffected vote, with their message having been described as both 'populist and leftist'. (6) While remaining steadfastly anti-racist and eschewing anti-immigrant sentiment, Sinn Fein focuses instead on anti-elite, anti-establishment messaging, and support for the party has surged from 7 per cent to 14 per cent, between the 2007 and 2016 general elections. However, even Ireland may not be immune to the rise of grievance-based right-wing populism, given the instability and insecurity that has been created by Brexit.

Unfortunately for the Irish left, there are few positives to be taken from the handling of Brexit by the UK Labour party, particularly the party's incapacity to put-forth a clear vision of what the UK's future relationship with the EU should look like.

The left in Ireland wants to see strong leadership and opposition from UK Labour in representing the interests of all of Europe's working people in the 'Brexit' negotiations. As the process will ultimately involve representatives of all 28 member state governments and the European institutions, there is clearly an opportunity for UK Labour to take steps to coordinate efforts across the European left to present a clear vision of how European workers and citizens can be best served in the upcoming negotiations. In the absence of leadership from UK Labour on this front however, the politics of 'Brexit' in Ireland will mostly likely remain--like most politics in Ireland--local.

Barry Colfer is a PhD researcher at the department of Politics and International studies/POLIS at the University of Cambridge. He has previously worked in Dail Eireann (the lower house of the Irish parliament) and in the European Parliament.

Greece shows no signs of following the British example

Maria Prentoulis

There is a small part of the Left in both Greece and Britain that has traditionally held a Eurosceptic position, arguing that the EU enables international capital and hoping that the dissolution of the union will enable working-class emancipation. In Greece this position is primarily held by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and some smaller organizations, some of which were part of the Syriza coalition until the second return of the party to power in September 2015.

One would expect this position to have gained wider popular support after the catastrophic lending agreements imposed on Greece since 2010 and the refusal of EU institutions to abandon divisive neoliberalism. This assumption was falsely communicated in the British media throughout the negotiations between Greece and the Troika in 2015 (negotiations that, in spite of a lack of international media interest, are still ongoing). In some cases, British observers attempted...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT