Labour are taking the easy path when it comes to Brexit - but it's not too late to change course, writes Green Party leader Caroline Lucas.
It takes a brave politician to stick to their principles – to do what is right instead of what is easy. In uncertain times, we need political bravery more than ever. But based on what I’ve seen since the 2016 referendum, I fear the Labour Party’s approach to Brexit is veering towards what is easy.
There is nothing brave about Labour’s failure to oppose a course of action they know will leave our country and future generations poorer.
There is nothing brave about giving the Tories pretty much a free ride on Brexit, letting them abandon European values and jump into bed with a demagogue like Donald Trump.
And there is certainly nothing brave about failing to stand up for free movement whilst Brexiteers blame immigration for the very real problems facing our communities across the country, when they know the true culprit is the vicious austerity policies.
There are no upsides to Brexit. There is no such thing as a ‘jobs-first Brexit’, and to try and pretend otherwise may be easy. But it also misleads the public.
On all the biggest issues facing our country and our planet, from wars to migration to climate change, Brexit will weaken our ability to cope and will leave us increasingly vulnerable to the seismic shifts that are already taking place.
Young people overwhelmingly oppose Brexit, and overwhelmingly support the idea of a People’s Vote on the terms of any Brexit deal.
That’s because they value the many benefits our membership of the European Union has brought to them: freedom of movement which allows them to live, love, work and study across Europe, funding for education and social mobility programmes, the sense of European solidarity that an unprecedented period of peace has brought to the continent.
To have all this taken away from them by the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg – who has enjoyed all those benefits, but now wants to pull the rug out from under future generations – is an act of theft that will not quickly be forgiven, or forgotten.
That’s why we need everyone who believes in creating a fairer, freer society to stand up and be brave – and that includes the Labour leadership. They need to join those of us listening to the young people, who will be the ones to feel the effects of Brexit for the longest – and who will inevitably be left to pick up the pieces when it all goes wrong.
We need to stand up for our values at a time when many parts of the world are turning towards reactionary, nationalist, authoritarian politics. We know where this path leads, because the world has seen it all before.
But there is still time to change course – if those of us with shared values, across all parties, join together in resisting the growing tide of right-wing politics, and start pushing back.
The first concrete step is to support a People’s Vote on the final terms of any Brexit deal. We need to give the people of this country a say over their own futures in a genuinely free and fair referendum, and not let Westminster politicians stitch up something behind closed doors.
It will be difficult, it will need a huge amount of hard work, and we might not succeed. But we must try. Because taking the right path isn’t always the same as taking the easy path.
Caroline Lucas is the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, and is a leading supporter of the People’s Vote campaign.
See also: ‘Panic about a No Deal outcome might trigger an exit from Brexit. But is there a reverse gear?’
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