A Liberal-Labour Alliance to unite Britain
The United Kingdom is a divided country. Rarely have we been so set against each other, with such big political divisions on questions that seek to define the very essence of who we are and who we want to be. Xenophobic nationalism has taken hold in many parts of the country. Only recently, we heard the harrowing story of a Polish girl who committed suicide due to the bullying she received for being different.
Powerful elites with mouthpieces like The Sun and The Daily Mail hoard wealth while targeting foreigners for rising inequality. Young people are being left without opportunities and without hope as the country's bridges to its neighbours are burned, well-paid jobs become harder to attain for the majority and secure and affordable housing recedes into a distant dream. The UK is the only advanced country where the economy has grown but wages have fallen.
Tensions between the regions of our country are growing, threatening to spiral out of control at any minute. For a long time the UK has got by as a federal state shoehorned into a unitary model. This cannot last. The ad hoc nature of our constitutional union is falling apart at the seams. We must be ready to change it completely or risk losing it for good.
To fight back against this darkness, we have to reach out and build a true majority that will bring hope and joy back to the lives of millions. To end the rise of reactionaries, the far-right, xenophobes, nationalists and other foul political movements, to turn back the tide, we have to unite all progressives. This means, as it has done in all moments of progress in this country, bridging the gap between Liberals and Socialists. To form an alliance right across the centre and left. This alliance will be based on these key principles that offer the only chance of building a forward-thinking, united movement in this country:
1. Fighting to keep the UK in the EU and promoting European integration.
2. An end to the ideological pursuit of austerity.
3. A Constitutional Convention for Political Reform to address, among other things, the federalisation of the UK and the introduction of a new voting system.
These are three simple but radical principles that are necessary to bring the country back into a position of unity and progress. With these principles engraved into our souls, we can be sure that we will not give ground to those who promote hatred and division. But we can also be confident that we'll be ready to ease the suffering of millions of ordinary people, to get them back into well-paid employment, get the country back into real growth and prosperity and to hand them the power and ability to shape their own lives.
If we do not act, then we risk finding ourselves embittered, resentful towards one another. The fabric of our nation, formed over centuries to be outward-looking and tolerant, would have been destroyed in a brief frenzy of nationalist fervour. To any real British patriot, such an outcome would be intolerable.
Some in this alliance will not normally be friends. There has been bitter opposition between Liberals and Socialists, but these differences must be put aside for the common good. Do we not all strive for that goal? To put the country above narrow selfish interests? Even if a simply moral appeal falls on deaf hears, from a practical standpoint we need to work together. If Brexit goes ahead, then Socialist objectives of ending austerity will be like dust in the wind as the economy goes down and foreign investment leaves. It was Labour that took Britain into the EEC in order to revive Britain's economic fortunes, the party must not forget that. Liberals meanwhile have to accept that unless they back a radical economic plan that will end austerity then they will be left alone and without the popular support necessary to keep Britain as an active member of the European family.
We can triumph together, or fail alone.
For a prosperous future. For a European, international future. For a future that is fair, open and just. I call for a Liberal-Labour Alliance.
Powerful elites with mouthpieces like The Sun and The Daily Mail hoard wealth while targeting foreigners for rising inequality. Young people are being left without opportunities and without hope as the country's bridges to its neighbours are burned, well-paid jobs become harder to attain for the majority and secure and affordable housing recedes into a distant dream. The UK is the only advanced country where the economy has grown but wages have fallen.
Tensions between the regions of our country are growing, threatening to spiral out of control at any minute. For a long time the UK has got by as a federal state shoehorned into a unitary model. This cannot last. The ad hoc nature of our constitutional union is falling apart at the seams. We must be ready to change it completely or risk losing it for good.
To fight back against this darkness, we have to reach out and build a true majority that will bring hope and joy back to the lives of millions. To end the rise of reactionaries, the far-right, xenophobes, nationalists and other foul political movements, to turn back the tide, we have to unite all progressives. This means, as it has done in all moments of progress in this country, bridging the gap between Liberals and Socialists. To form an alliance right across the centre and left. This alliance will be based on these key principles that offer the only chance of building a forward-thinking, united movement in this country:
1. Fighting to keep the UK in the EU and promoting European integration.
2. An end to the ideological pursuit of austerity.
3. A Constitutional Convention for Political Reform to address, among other things, the federalisation of the UK and the introduction of a new voting system.
These are three simple but radical principles that are necessary to bring the country back into a position of unity and progress. With these principles engraved into our souls, we can be sure that we will not give ground to those who promote hatred and division. But we can also be confident that we'll be ready to ease the suffering of millions of ordinary people, to get them back into well-paid employment, get the country back into real growth and prosperity and to hand them the power and ability to shape their own lives.
If we do not act, then we risk finding ourselves embittered, resentful towards one another. The fabric of our nation, formed over centuries to be outward-looking and tolerant, would have been destroyed in a brief frenzy of nationalist fervour. To any real British patriot, such an outcome would be intolerable.
Some in this alliance will not normally be friends. There has been bitter opposition between Liberals and Socialists, but these differences must be put aside for the common good. Do we not all strive for that goal? To put the country above narrow selfish interests? Even if a simply moral appeal falls on deaf hears, from a practical standpoint we need to work together. If Brexit goes ahead, then Socialist objectives of ending austerity will be like dust in the wind as the economy goes down and foreign investment leaves. It was Labour that took Britain into the EEC in order to revive Britain's economic fortunes, the party must not forget that. Liberals meanwhile have to accept that unless they back a radical economic plan that will end austerity then they will be left alone and without the popular support necessary to keep Britain as an active member of the European family.
We can triumph together, or fail alone.
For a prosperous future. For a European, international future. For a future that is fair, open and just. I call for a Liberal-Labour Alliance.
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