There are at least three very good reasons why it is essential for Labour to prevail this summer against the forces of reaction and bigotry
JUNE’S European parliamentary elections are crucial on at least three counts: maintaining Labour’s comeback as we approach the next general election, avoiding the horrendous prospect of the British National Party gaining its first ever parliamentarians under the proportional electoral system, and ensuring a large contingent of socialist MEPs in the European Parliament ,which now has the decisive say on European legislation.
European elections tend to be a mid-term opportunity to kick the Government – whoever is in power. Turnout tends to be low and the xenophobic right may have a disproportionate influence. There is also the risk of electors being “bought” by big spenders. In 2004, the UK Independence Party spent more than the three main parties put together on its nationwide billboard campaign. But the tide of public opinion may be turning against Euroscepticism. UKIP failed miserably to inflame public opinion against the Treaty of Lisbon. On the contrary, there is a growing realisation that the EU is a necessary tool we must use to our advantage. If Labour puts a forceful case in a well-run campaign, we can win against the divided Tories and various Eurosceptics.
The BNP threat should be a powerful motivating factor for the decent majority to vote to keep the fascists out. With a proportional system, the BNP could get a seat with as little as 8.5 per cent of the vote in the North-West or 11 per cent in Yorkshire, the West or East Midlands. BNP MEPs would have not just the prestige and legitimacy of elected parliamentary office, but the resources in terms of staff and finance that go with it. They will link up with other fascist groups in Europe. This must be avoided at all costs.
The European Parliament is no longer a mere talking shop. It has the decisive say on European legislation, the adoption of which requires its approval. The strength of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament should be a vital interest to those who seek progressive outcomes on issues such as climate change, fair trade, consumer protection, energy, fairness at the workplace, and regulating multinational companies.
In the field of social protection and workplace rights, Labour MEPs have achieved a number of victories against opposition from the Conservatives, UKIP and the Liberal Democrats. The strength and unity of the Socialist Group means we can seek a fairer deal on the Working Time Directive. We secured equal treatment for temporary and agency workers and a greatly improved Works Council Directive. The common manifesto of the Party of European Socialists includes a demand for legislation to close the legal loopholes in the Posted Workers Directive that led to the Laval, Rüffert and Luxembourg cases where the European Court of Justice deemed that the right of trade unions to organise and negotiate collective agreements was outstripped by the right of establishment.
These achievements and commitments are bitterly opposed by our opponents. UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom even took to the airwaves over Christmas to call for the abolition of the national minimum wage, adding: “If I want to employ somebody at £4 an hour, that’s my business”. Meanwhile, the Tories want to turn back the clock and take Britain out of the Social Chapter, which our Labour Government took us into soon after the 1997 general election. Opt-out would be a disaster for workers’ rights in Britain – millions would lose the right to paid holiday and maternity pay. We would have the least protected workers in Europe. Rather than taking Britain’s workplace rights back a generation, we have a chance to increase the social dimension of Europe.
Of course, Europe has next to nothing to say on the National Health Service, education, taxation, pensions, local government, housing and most of the gut issues that determine national elections. But on the environment, consumer protection and workplace rights, we have to fight and win our political battles at European level. That’s why the European elections will be vital.
Richard Corbett is Labour MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber
Pingback: European Elections 2009 - Page 3