Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, speaking at the London No2EU election rally. Photo by Paul Mattsson
Over 153,000 votes have been cast for the RMT -led No2EU-Yes to democracy coalition across the country. This represents 1% of the overall vote for a campaign that has only been active for less than eight weeks. Right from the start No2EU-Yes to democracy was up against a complete blackout by the mainstream media in fear of what the coalition of the RMT, trade unionists and left parties could achieve in the face of a collapse in support for the three main capitalist parties and endless coverage for far right groups.
In Brighton 601 votes were achieved and in the South East constituency No2EU-Yes to democracy gained an impressive 21,455 with Socialist Party members right across the region out campaigning for this working class electoral alternative. With a significant vote to build on, and support from trade union members from all over the country, the foundations are now being laid to organise a united left working class challenge at the next general election.
The follow is a press release from the No2EU-Yes to democracy campaign
EURO ELECTIONS SPARK CALL FOR LEFT AND TRADE UNION UNITY TO DEFEAT BNP AS POLITICAL ELITE COLLAPSE
With all the Euro election results confirmed, Bob Crow, convenor of the No2EU coalition and general secretary of the RMT, has called for urgent discussions involving socialist organisations, campaigns and trade unions to build a concerted political and industrial response to the volatile situation which has contributed to the election of two fascists from the BNP to the European Parliament.
The combined vote in Thursdays poll for No2EU, the Socialist Labour Party and some of the smaller left parties stacks up to nearly a third of a million votes – just over 2% of the total. In Scotland, the combined left vote was close to 4%.
Meanwhile, the Labour share of the vote has dropped by a massive 31%, the Lib Dems by over 7% and the Tories, despite all the hype, have only managed a tiny increase in share with turnout collapsing to just over 30%.
Bob Crow said today: “There is no question that the BNP have benefitted from the collapse of the establishment political parties and from media coverage that has pumped them up like celebrities on “I’m a Nazi – Get Me Out of Here.” Sections of the press, which have deliberately ignored anti-establishment parties from the left, need to take a long, hard look at the way the blanket coverage they have given to the fascists from the BNP has contributed to their success.
“But it’s the collapse of public support for the three main parties – each of which is pro-business, pro-EU and supportive of the anti-union laws – which has created the conditions for the scapegoat-politics of the BNP to thrive. The fascists support in former mining communities like Barnsley is shocking and throws down a massive challenge to the Labour and Trade Union movement.
“We now need to take stock. Along with our colleagues from the SLP and other left groups we won nearly a third of a million votes. From No2EU we won over 150,000 supporters from a standing start in the teeth of a media blackout. That gives us a solid platform to build from. We now need urgent discussions with political parties, campaigns and our colleagues in other unions like the CWU to develop a political and industrial response to this crisis.”
More election analysis can be found at www.socialistparty.org.uk
