The case for hope

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell yesterday (May 17) addressed young people at the TUC, as he outlined Labour’s case to back Remain in next month’s momentous EU referendum.

It’s a case predicated on hope, McDonnell explained, and one that stands in stark contrast to the Tories’ arguments for Brexit which are dominated by fear.

“We should lift our sights,” he said. “There is a need for us to offer a vision of a Europe of co-operation and solidarity.

“We know that there are pressing issues facing us that can only be tackled effectively and justly through international co-operation,” McDonnell noted.

“Creating a prosperous economy where the prosperity is shared fairly by all. Ensuring basic rights at work, wherever one chooses to work. Tackling climate change. Dealing with international humanitarian crises, especially where refugees are created.

“The EU, with all its imperfections, provides us with that forum not just for securing that international co-operation but also translating it into effective action,” he added.

The shadow chancellor said that a vote to remain was a vote for a forward-looking vision under a  future Labour government.

“Tory Brexit opens the door to the prospects of more austerity and more uncertainty,” he said.

“It is a future that is more complex and unpredictable than the new voting system of the Eurovision song contest.

“Whereas there are plenty more things you can be certain to look forward to under remaining in the EU under a Labour government,” he added. “Labour under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn has a different vision for Europe.”

“One where we protect and advance worker’s rights, take on the tax avoiders, get to grips with climate change, and protect our industries like steel and reform the institutions of the EU from a position of strength as a Labour Party in the EU.”

Poll results

McDonnell’s speech comes as a new YouGov polling shows that young people are broadly supportive of remaining in the EU.

In this latest poll of nearly 1,500 young people aged 18 to 30, 55 per cent of young people felt being in the EU gave them greater rights and protection at work and more than twice as many people believed being in the EU made it easier to improve our environment.

Young trade union members were especially inclined to vote to remain – they wanted to remain in the EU by 57 per cent to 23 per cent, while 77 per cent felt being in the EU gave them greater rights and protection at work.

A full 70 per cent of young trade unionists saw being in the EU as an opportunity, compared to only 15 per cent who saw it as a threat.

Unite health and safety rep Kurtis Brierley, 22, who works at the energy company E.On, is one such young person who’s enthusiastically voting to remain.

“Too many people are seeing the referendum purely in terms of money,” he said. “They’ll say a certain amount of money goes into the EU and only X amount of money comes back to us, so it’s not worth it.

“But as a health and safety rep, I see remaining in the EU as more than just about money,” he said. “We’ve adopted many health and safety laws from the EU that we didn’t have before and countless lives have been saved because of these laws – you can’t put a price on that.

“I firmly believe that uniting together amplifies our collective voice – one hundred voices are better than one,” Brierley added.

He noted it’s especially important for young people to vote in the referendum.

“Whatever we decide in June, the consequences won’t just be felt over the next few years, they will be felt for generations – and so the outcome of the vote will affect young people the most. We have the most to gain and the most to lose.”

Heather McCarnun, equalities officer for her local Unite Community branch in Swindon, is only 17 and isn’t eligible to vote in the EU referendum, but she’s actively involved in the Remain campaign.

Life-changing

She agrees with Brierley that especially for young people, the decision will be a life-changing one.

“Our future is what is being decided on June 23,” she said. “And it’s not just about us, but it’s about the future of our families, too. We have to decide what kind of world we want to live in not just for now but for generations to come – for our children and their children’s children.

“I’m telling all friends and family that this will be an incredibly close referendum and every single vote is going to count,” McCarnun said.

“There’s a very real and very high chance that our human rights will be destroyed if we leave the EU. Leaving the EU means leaving the Tory government to their own devices – any restraint they’ve showed on worker protections so far is because they’re being held back by EU law.

“The whole purpose of the EU is supporting each other and raising standards for all of us,” she added. “We can’t be part of this project and vision for solidarity by being our own little island; we have to be in it together.

Unite youth coordinator Anthony Curley explained why so many young British people are getting behind the Remain banner.

“Young people have suffered most under this and the previous government’s austerity policies,” he argued.

“From hikes in tuition fees to rising youth unemployment; from denying the new National Living Wage to under -25s to denying housing benefit to under-21s, this government and its predecessor have presided over a generation of young people who find themselves utterly lost, without the economic security their parents and grandparents had.

“Young people understand more acutely than anyone what’s at stake in this referendum,” he added.

“A Tory government unshackled by the worker and consumer protections the EU affords will mean the unleashing of an extreme austerity agenda that’s nothing compared to what we’ve already suffered.”

“Young people in the UK see themselves as both British and European – they have a distinctly international vision of solidarity and, having been born as globalisation first began its acceleration, they understand intuitively that our increasingly interconnected world demands interconnected solutions.

“We cannot fight the worst excesses of globalisation, nor can we reap its benefits, without working together with other countries – remaining in the EU gives us the best opportunity to do just that.

Whichever way you decide to vote on June 23, you cannot have your say in the EU referendum unless you’re registered to vote by June 7. Register in a few minutes here.

Be aware that many people have fallen off the electoral register since the government introduced new registration rules at the end of last year. Don’t take a chance and assume that you’re registered – you can check if you’re on the electoral roll by contacting your local electoral registration office here.