…not despite, but because of their Brexit policy.

Let’s be honest: my life as a German citizen living in the UK would be so much easier, if Britain were to remain in the European Union. No settlement schemes, no fear of another Windrush generation, continued freedom of movement, etc. Obviously, I love the idea of staying in the European Union. And this Thursday I will also vote Labour.

But the Labour party leadership does not endorse “Remain”! So how can a German citizen living in the UK support such a party, I have rightfully been asked. “Remain” as a word has become so loaded with meaning in the toxic political discourse over the last years in the UK, that it has taken the form of a semantic Behemoth incorporating so many ideas, endless nights of discussions, everlasting worries and contradicting hopes for the future.

And yet it is void of any clear policy implementation. The possibilities to “Remain” are sheer endless: Revoke Article 50 and crash back into the EU — as recently advocated by a rather successful petition –, another referendum (a version of which Labour backed in the House of Commons), a general election and Remain to reform, Remain under continued austerity or socialism, etc. Many will argue that no matter what flavour of “Remain” Labour choses to endorse — or perhaps craft for itself — the basic principle, the continued membership in the European Union, is the only thing that really matters.

Here we disagree. That’s why you might vote for the Liberal Democrats. And I will vote Labour.

I have my own quarrels with the Labour party leadership. I truly believe that the Brexit process, as conducted by Theresa May, has been fundamentally flawed: from it’s conception in a binary referendum containing an artificial dichotomy, to its implementation on the 29th March 2017, up until the most recent months of Theresa May repeatedly kicking the can down the road. At no point has an honest discussion of what Brexit is and what we should make of it taken place. Nobody ever cared to define what “Remain” and “Leave” meant to the people.

We find ourselves in a culture war along artificial lines, with little to no nuance left on either side of the spectrum. Racial and xenophobic hatred, as well as the hostile environment (transcending actual policy implementation and governing the realm of social reality) have increasingly become worse because of it. Polarization has become the norm.

Since mid-2018 I have been committed to a campaign for more democracy in the Brexit process. We, Take a Break from Brexit and DiEM25, demanded a long extension to make time for regional citizens assemblies. We demanded that the demos — the people — find a way out of the mess Brexit has become. We wanted to put an end to the years of name-calling and self-inflicted suffering, and the inevitable rise of the far-right.

What I sought, with a group of other political activists, was reconciliation. Reconciliation in a country divided over its own fate. Unfortunately, our concerns have not always been heard and were drowned out by the deafening noise around Brexit.

Nevertheless, no party other than Labour, can deliver reconciliation. Only Labour, with it’s unique mandate representing Remain and Leave constituencies, with its commitment to end austerity, with an agenda for the Many not the Few creates the space necessary for a democratic discussion about Brexit and our future relationship with the European Union. The path we chose, in which we want to reach “Remain” — whatever flavour is may be in the end — matters. In fact, it matters much more than the final outcome.

If we crash back into the European Union, or hold a premature referendum, we will only deepen the rift splitting this country into diametrically opposed halfes. The way in which we handle Brexit will determine whether or not this country will stay divided, whether hatred toward migrants of all colours will only grow, or whether we can reach out over the trenches of a continued culture war and bring back together what belongs together: The Many in the UK. Britain and Europe.

Let us fight the internationalist struggle for the emancipation of the masses.