Our friendly ex-BBC trot, Paul Mason makes the case for leaving the EU - as only an anti-democrat can

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Paul Mason is a trot. OK so he has wrapped it all up in a mish-mash of pseudo-academic wibble but he is a trot, a good old-fashioned anti-democratic, pro-direct action loony leftie. And, in keeping with all those other dyed-in-the-wool left wing folk, Paul doesn't like the European Union much.

But Paul hates something else even more. Paul hates the possibility that the British electorate will vote for a party and a party leadership that he doesn't like. This cannot be allowed to happen so, regardless of its corruption, opacity, secrecy and lack of democracy, we should be voting to stay in the EU. Here's Paul's case:

Now here’s the practical reason to ignore it. In two words: Boris Johnson. The conservative right could have conducted the leave campaign on the issues of democracy, rule of law and UK sovereignty, leaving the economics to the outcome of a subsequent election. Instead, Johnson and the Tory right are seeking a mandate via the referendum for a return to full-blown Thatcherism: less employment regulation, lower wages, fewer constraints on business. If Britain votes Brexit, then Johnson and Gove stand ready to seize control of the Tory party and turn Britain into a neoliberal fantasy island.

So there you have it. We should stay in the EU because its unaccountable and undemocratic structures (and Paul describes them so) will stop the will of the British people being acted on by the government that people have elected. This is the absolute essence of the case against leaving the EU. Leave aside the scary stuff about security, economics and so forth, the case from the left - moderate as well as extremist - is that leaving will inevitably dilute workers rights, environmental actions and minimum wages. Paul and his chums have nothing but sneering contempt for the British electorate for daring to reject their idiotic creed so they argue for remaining within an organisation so undemocratic that it prevents the will of an elected government from prevailing.

I can't think of a single better reason for leaving the EU.

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Ah memories....

"Tory scum" echoes the (ever so slightly posh) voice behind the presenter.

"Tory scum"

Tears sprang to my eyes at the memory of that cry - so often directed towards me back in the days! I could picture the cry of the trot, newspapers in hand...

"Fight the cuts, fight the Tories. SO-cialist Worker"

There would be the sleek John Rees - resplendent in his expensive bomber jacket and faux-palestinian scarf - crying the cry of the activist. A cry made louder as we tore up his foul rag before his eyes.

Ah, memories of student protest. Of the grand fights against "cuts". Of the struggle, the organising, the mobilising. The memory of the Communist student official who ran a campaign calling for us to vote for him to get:

"More n-n-n-nutty campaigning"

So thank you students for reminding me of those days. I didn't agree with you back then when I was a student and I don't agree with you now.

...but the memories are good!

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