To think that left wingers should be just as, if not more eurosceptic then the Right.

[Dadistired1]

I have noticed after Jeremy Corbyn's fantastic election result that many labour mp's and members have been very firm that Corbyn should not campaign against leaving the EU.

As a labour party member, who voted out Jeremy I really can't understand why anyone who has socialist/leftist principles or opinions would stay.

Firstly, they took the side of the banks and have forced undemocratic austerity on the people of Greece.

They are secretly negotiating with America to give us hormone injected meat and GMO products through TTIP. Even UKIP oppose TTIP.

They are undemocratic not publishing financial reports.

This is worth a watch.

anyone

Some of them are. If you ever read the comments sections in the liberal press you'll see that there is a distinct thread of left-wing opinion that is very isolationist.

It probably depends which type of left winger you are - in my experience people who are socially very liberal and somewhat left wing economically tend to be pro EU, others who are less socially liberal but economically very left wing are anti.

Going back to the 70s, some left wingers believed that they could unite within a European framework, and achieve their left-wing agenda by stealth since no sane person would ever vote for them. So there has always been a leftist dimension to the European project (can't really argue with the Tories on that).

However, equating Labour and left-wing in a European sense isn't particularly useful (I never understood why some people equate US Democrats with Labour and Republicans with Tory. Not only is it lazy. It betrays a lack of knowledge of history). Apart from the Militant days in the 80s, Labour hasn't really been that left wing. Or particularly socialist for that matter.

Those of us with long memories will recall it was the Tories that took us into the common market EU, and Labour that wanted us out.

Well Jeremy voted to leave the common market.

Well Jeremy voted to leave the common market.

Where ? Not in parliament (where it matters).

The problem is that being a non-internationalist socialist makes you a national socialist.

It's one of those labels which has been adopted by some profoundly evil people and carries a great deal of negative historical baggage. People therefore don't feel comfortable espousing it and go for the nearest possible socialism which is either so radical it's foolish or so centrist it's pointless.

In the referendum in the seventies.

Those among who are more, um, elderly, may recall that in the original Common Market vote in 1975 Tony Benn shared a anti-Common Market platform with Enoch Powell!

"among us" and "an anti-Common Market" - bloody iPhone.

The problem is that EU "harmony" encourages economic migration that helps drive down wages particular in lesser skilled jobs. On the flipside it is important in that it fills vacancies where there are shortages in more skilled jobs eg NHS.

Simply blaming migrants as people in some quarters do is lazy and unfair as it is a simply a case of cause and effect. Migrants are just doing what the EU allows them to. Corbyn will be alot more sensitive when discussing the EU than someone like Farage.

On the other hand, many labour laws are eu led. If it were up to the tories, we'd be chained to our office desks 24-7 (possibly ;) )

The Left was generally eurosceptic until someone convinced the trade unions that joining was the only way to push back against Thatcher. These days I think you'd have to be blind not to see the rabid pro-market ideology hidden behind all the warm fuzzy worker-protectiony human rightsy stuff (even Owen Jones ha cottoned on) but many still seem blind to its faults or determined to ignore them.

If Labour really gave a stuff about the UK working class they wouldn't be encouraging a system that allows their wages to be undercut by cheap labour from the EU. It's the real reason Labour is bleeding support everywhere but in London, where people mostly like the cheap nannies and enjoy feeling good about how multicultural they are.

On the flipside it is important in that it fills vacancies where there are shortages in more skilled jobs eg NHS

Ten trusts have written to gov about migration rules outside EU as they are facing staff shortages.

I find people like Farage and Corbyn meet in th middle as they are both extremem.

Corbyn is only "extreme" to those who have had their heads filled with 30 years of neo liberal poison.

Well, if you're not a fan of neoliberal poison I hope you'll be voting Out in the referendum