Oppositions Attract in Brexistential Breakdowns

My house is a Labour house, my family is a Labour family, so this entry fucking hurts.

I had such great faith that Jeremy Corbyn would be different: Here is a man, thought I, who has the courage of his convictions to stand doggedly by his guns whilst all around him is screaming at him to change, and I respected that. It inspired me, I felt better about the political system and the state of the country because I thought, no matter how slim the chance, that here was an actual chance that someone would be able to fight for something left-wing, someone would drag the political discourse of our country back towards the left, and come the next election I wouldn’t simply be left with the choice between Tory and Diet Tory. Above all else, I thought here was a man who, finally, would fight for my best interests as a member of the working class.

But then he began to talk about Europe, or rather, he didn’t really say much about Europe, and pulling an answer out of him regarding Europe was a surprisingly difficult thing. I wrote this off at the time, thinking “well yeah, why should he be drawn on this? Calling a referendum was Cameron’s idea, it’s basically a Tory power-play, why wouldn’t he let them bicker it out themselves?” but now I look back at it, I just can’t help but think “did you really care about Europe, Jeremy?”

Because the moment the ball dropped, the moment the result rolled in, he was there, demanding Article 50 be invoked now, and whilst those comments were quickly waved away as “whoops, I meant to say she needs to respect the result and get on with triggering Article 50 as soon as”, that feeling came back and it was harder to shake this time. And it’s been there ever since, and every time Jeremy Corbyn has said “we need to respect the result of the referendum” or “Labour will fight for the best Brexit for Britain” or especially “the British public have spoken” that feeling has intensified.

And now that the Supreme Court has ruled (as we thought it would) that Parliament must have a say in invoking Article 50, and Jeremy Corbyn replied “Labour respects the result of the referendum and the will of the British people and will not frustrate the process for invoking Article 50” and I can’t do this any more. Worse, now I understand how all those PLP members must have felt when they were all screaming at him to step down and he just wouldn’t listen, because I feel this overwhelming, primal scream building inside me, and I want to grab Jeremy Corbyn by the shoulders and violently shake him whilst screaming “OPPOSE THE FUCKING GOVERNMENT AND FIGHT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO REMAIN IN THE EUROPEAN UNION YOU INTOLERABLY RETICENT BERK!”

Look, almost two thirds of Labour voters voted to remain in the EU, the list of MPs who will vote against Article 50 is growing, and you can’t let the future of the country be dictated by just over a third of its overall population, especially when more and more of that third are changing their minds about how they voted; all of this will matter more as 2020 draws nearer, because all of those people will feel unrepresented, they will be disparate and their votes will be spread so thinly that the Tories will walk right back into Number 10 and the only chance Labour has of avoiding fucking castration is to stand for them and fucking oppose leaving the EU. I cannot in all good conscience vote for a party that would see us commit economic suicide and weaken our standing in the world for decades because a bunch of Daily Mail readers can’t handle the growing number of foreign food shops in their middle-class, 98% white neighbourhoods and someone in the party is worried about losing voters to UKIP.

Just like with non-violent protests and Nazis being interviewed in the street, this is a line for me. I can’t do it, I just can’t. This goes beyond party politics, it’s a far bigger issue. Now more than ever, I feel European, I want to be part of Europe, I want the safety and security and freedom and comforts and delights it brings. I don’t want a quick deal worked out with Trump’s America, the thought of that disturbs me deeply - as it should disturb us all - because I don’t for one single second trust the words that man speaks, and I would rather have the weight of 27 other countries with me when we sit down at the negotiating table.

I don’t want to normalise the prejudices and hatred that were validated by the referendum result, I want to fight them. I don’t want to give validity to those ideals and beliefs, I want to reject them. I want to vote for a party that will do that, and that party isn’t going to be the Labour party: even if my MP herself votes against triggering Article 50, even if she’s one of the growing number of MPs who will, I still won’t vote for her, because she’s a Labour MP, and I can’t condone their position on Brexit.

I just want an opposition party that will oppose. Is that really too much to ask for?