Left-wing Brexit tour comes to Manchester
Campaigners, trade unionists and academics committed to a left-wing Brexit will hold a big public meeting at the Methodist Central Hall on 5 March at 18:30.
The activists say the event, "Transforming Britain After Brexit", will be a positive, open conversation with ordinary working people about the future of Coventry and the wider country.
The meeting is part of a nationwide tour, led by economics professor Costas Lapavitsas, a former member of the Greek parliament for the Syriza government, which experienced crushing austerity imposed by the European Union.
Lapavitsas, author of a book entitled "The Left Case Against the EU", says that this experience, and his academic research, convinced him that the EU harmed ordinary people, leading him to support Brexit.
"Since the 2016 referendum, the British establishment has been terrorising the public, trying to convince them that life outside the EU will be terrible," Lapavitsas says. "In reality, Brexit offers a wonderful opportunity to make Britain much more democratic, and to change the economy to benefit everyone. For instance, leaving the EU allows the British state to rebalance the economy away from the southeast to benefit the West Midlands and other regions. We want to talk about creating this positive future with working people – however they voted in 2016."
Speaking alongside Lapavitsas will be Eddie Dempsey of the National Union of Rail and Maritime Transport workers. "The RMT has always seen the EU as a union of bosses against workers," says Dempsey, whose organisation has long campaigned for Brexit. "Despite all the scare stories, we'll be better off out. Now's the time for us all to discuss how to build a fairer, better society that works for everyone, not just a privileged few."
Also participating in the event will be Martin Hall of Counterfire magazine, Kim Bryan of the Socialist Labour Party, Professor Philip Whyman of the University of Central Lancashire, and Dr Lee Jones, co-founder of The Full Brexit.
The tour, which started in Coventry, will continue to Liverpool, London and Durham.
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