March 29, 2019

The ethno-nationalist project at the heart of Brexit

located:	United Kingdom
editor:	Gurmeet Singh

Today marks the original Brexit day. March 29, 2019, was supposed to be when the U.K. left the EU for good. But it is far from taking root. So confused has the process been, it is worthwhile returning to the question and asking, what Brexit is.

Brexit is many things. It is unprecedented. It is life-altering. It's a chance for Britain to cast off the legislative and legal burdens of the EU and reclaim its long-forgotten sovereignty. Above all, it is boring. It is also possibly the most tedious political saga in recent history. Brexit is a political crisis – a seemingly interminable one, but it's simply nowhere near the level of violence, destabilisation and anxiety of world-historical events. 

So it is dull. And in the most British way, the crisis is reduced to bourgeois terms of party politics – turning this already painful affair into not only a dull and repetitive crisis, but one expressed in the dullest and most repetitive terms. The historical unity of a Kingdom reduced to 'who will be next Tory leader, Michael Gove, or Boris Johnson?' So it might be worth reminding ourselves what Brexit actually is, amidst all the noise. 

Brexit is at heart an ethno-nationalist project. It must be distinguished from leaving the EU. Leaving the EU is fine, and could, in theory, lead to a positive, prosperous and unified country being built on principles of workers' rights, solidarity, and justice. But that is not what Brexit is. Brexit is not simply an attempt to wrest power away from the EU – it is an attempt to enshrine white, elite, British supremacy over the nation.

Is that sensationalist? Well look at the facts:

• The government that has led the Brexit negotiations is headed by a Prime Minister who is known for her historical record of anti-immigrant, discriminatory policies. 
• The Windrush scandal is ongoing, where black immigrants from the Caribbean are being deported despite long-standing ties to and residency in the U.K. 
• The Brexit vote was in part a reaction against the ECHR, and human rights in general. The country has vowed to drop commitments to human rights as framed by the ECHR, so it can deal with terrorists, it claims. 
• The living status of millions of EU citizens in the U.K. is still under question. As is the status of British citizens living in the EU. 

Not only have racist incidents increased in severity and number across the U.K., but anti-European and xenophobic crimes have also risen, as have the number of crimes of an Islamophobic and anti-Semitic nature.

In addition, the U.K. is doing a pretty good job of dividing communities based on their historical background – the lack of solidarity between EU citizens and British people of colour is noticeable, as the latter are being lured, and were lured to vote for Brexit with hollow-sounding rhetoric about British ties to the Commonwealth.

Contrariwise, remainers who want to protect EU citizens ignore the claims of POCs as there is an acknowledgement that state power has done violence to POCs, but refuses to let such violence occur against white, European people, while doing nothing to protect POCs.

So Brexit is a stratified, strange mess of impulses and historical confluences. And yet, the main driver behind Brexit continues to be an elitist, white, British one. There is no strong left-wing impulse behind Brexit (despite the left-wing impulse to leave the EU). It is transparent that Brexit is white power in all but name. It will reveal itself in time. 

Check out our other article on potential Brexit racism

Photo: Movement for Justice

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