Dublin.
A year ago Britain voted to exit the European Union. And many progressives failed to understand it. They castigated the British – in particular the English and Welsh working classes. Progressives vilified those who had the temerity to reject Brussels. Anyone who wanted to leave the EU was deemed to be a racist, a caveman, an irrational nationalist and even a drunk fool.
However today – exactly one year later – after the performance of Jeremy Corbyn in the recent British election, progressives everywhere are excited and optimistic about the British voters. Some are even talking about a “soft” Brexit or even no Brexit. But does this mood swing among progressives – one year they see Hitler and the next they see Jesus – make sense? Has Britain changed so much in a year? Or are progressives completely misreading Britain’s electorate? Did all those immigrant-haters suddenly disappear or were they even there in the first place?
Britain didn’t change itself in the last year. The recent election which unexpectedly halted the march of the Tories complemented rather than contradicted the vote to leave the European Union. Corbyn’s success was based upon an anti-austerity argument. He was giving the British an alternative not just to the Tory vision of society but also to the EU vision of Europe. He was explicitly trying to end the neoliberal nonsense which has traumatised the many and enriched the few. And by doing so he was moving Britain further away…