Brexit — a call for radical Liberalism

It is hard to know what to write about Brexit. Like so many people, I feel a sense of anger, disappointment and bewilderment at the result. Like an alien in my own country. I am a passionate liberal — I believe in tolerance and diversity — I think that immigration is good. Of course, there are those on the Leave side that feel the same way. Owen’s Barder’s excellent blog says that we should just get on with it and try to work with those on both sides that support progressive values. I agree. But there is no getting away from the fact that many, if not indeed most of those voting Leave were not voting for a more open, inclusive and tolerant Britain. Quite the opposite. This vote has strengthened the hand of the populist nationalist politicians throughout Europe and beyond — and that mindset, that vision has not served humanity well in the past.

So what to do? A few days ago — appalled at the illiberal language of the campaign and the contempt for evidence and experts — I joined the only party with Liberal in their name. I’ve never been a member of a political party before — they are all too full of themselves, too arrogant, too evangelical for my taste. But I simply can’t stand by and analyse from the sidelines any more. Since the nightmare of the Second World War the arc of European history has been towards building a set of institutions that would prevent us ever again fighting one another. The march of policy has been a progressive one — towards greater integration, greater inclusion, better rights for workers, for women, for the disabled, for ethnic minorities, for the LGBT community. Many of us came to think of fellow Europeans — indeed of people from other countries in general, as simply that — fellow global citizens bound together by a common set of values. Whilst I don’t deny that there are many from the Leave side that adhere to these values too, I do feel that these values are under threat. I don’t care who fights against illiberalism — the best speakers in the Referendum debate were a Scottish Tory and a muslim Brit of Pakistani origin who leads our capital city for Labour — but fight it we must.

Which begs the question — how? One approach is to paint ourselves in the Union Jack (although the Scottish Saltire may soon be hastily removed). Already we hear voices from Remainers of both left and right saying that we need to consider tighter immigration controls. Their rationale is clear — the British people clearly voted to keep foreigners out (or at least to stem the flow) — to be elected one now needs to espouse this view. But this is exactly what we should not do. We should not respond to the shock of discovering how illiberal some bits of the country are by relinquishing the values that we hold. The Brexiteers won by being passionate and unflinching in their views — liberal campaigners from across the spectrum now need to do the same. Now is not the time to water down progressive value — it is the time to reassert them even more strongly.

At the same time, the most important reason why the Leave camp won is because the vote was a protest against the alienation and marginalisation that many parts of Britain face from those that lead them. Globalisation may be a good thing overall — I strongly believe it is — but we have failed to care for those who it hurt. Immigration may be a good thing overall — but we have failed to ensure that regions with large migrant communities can cope. Wages, particularly of the lower skilled, have stagnated whilst those of the rich have soared — no wonder people are angry. The right response to Brexit is to reconnect — to listen to the excluded of British society, to find out what they really care about. This is going to uncomfortable. The angry and marginalised may have views that we don’t like. They are sick of being called racist just because they are concerned about immigration. But if we do not reconnect we have no prospect — and no right — to lead.

Above all, we need to inspire. When I heard Caroline Lucas talking about the vision of European citizenship, I feel inspired; when I hear Ruth Davidson talk about the strength of the Union, I feel inspired; when I hear Sadiq Khan talk about the vibrancy of a multi-cultural London, I feel inspired. We need a radical liberal vision that works together with those with progressive values across the spectrum to defeat nationalist, populist politics by inspiring the British people to be the best of themselves.