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Labour victory ‘will be a beacon for the world,’ say Progressive Democrats of America

A LABOUR general election victory in Britain “will be a beacon for the world,” the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) have said as voters head to the polls tomorrow.

PDA executive director Alan Minsky said the public has a “historic opportunity” to elect a “truly pro-worker, pro-environment, anti-war and anti-racist government” by voting for the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Minsky said: “A Labour victory would represent a sharp break with neoliberalism, the failed economic orthodoxy of the past four decades which makes an idol of the ‘market’ and redistributes wealth and power ever upward.

“The record is clear: neoliberal economic policies deliver society’s wealth into the hands of the few, condemn the rest of us to lives of struggle and debt…, rip apart workers’ rights, maintain structural racism and permanent wars and generate ever greater environmental degradation.”

Labour’s manifesto stands in “brilliant contrast” to such policies and lays out a “clear pathway to a more just and equitable society,” Mr Minksy said.

“It calls for the revival of tried and trusted policies that produced the most prosperous societies in human history in the post-World War II era,” he added.

“At its heart, the Labour programme is about redistributing wealth, empowering workers and allocating resources to social necessities that the market won’t fund.

“The plan creates jobs and puts money into the pockets of people who need it and will spend it, generating further wealth.  Don’t believe anyone that says it isn’t possible.”

Mr Minksy also pointed out that the choice facing British voters today is “stark” and that ordinary people in the US know from first-hand experience what consequences will follow from the Conservatives continuing with their policies of neoliberal austerity.

He described Boris Johnson as “the UK’s Trump,” arguing that the Tory leader is “a man as self-serving as the US President, with equal contempt for the constitution and democratic principle.

“Johnson will join the growing ranks of ethnonationalist autocratic rulers: Erdogan, Modi, Bolsonaro, Putin, Orban, et al,” Mr Minksy warned.

“Have no illusions, a Johnson victory will be seen as the greatest triumph yet for global Trumpism.

“British voters can launch a new era of economic prosperity and justice for all. In an uncanny act of historical symmetry, we in the US can join with you next year.”

Statement in Support of the Labour Party from the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA)

On Thursday, the British public has a historic opportunity to elect a truly pro-worker, pro-environment, anti-war and anti-racist government by voting for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party in the UK general election. 

A Labour victory would represent a sharp break with neoliberalism, the failed economic orthodoxy of the past four decades which makes an idol of the “market” and redistributes wealth and power ever-upward. 

The neoliberal project was launched by Margaret Thatcher in 1979, and Ronald Reagan a year later. The record is clear: neoliberal economic policies deliver society’s wealth into the hands of the few, condemn the rest of us to lives of struggle and debt peonage, rip apart workers’ rights, maintain structural racism and permanent wars and generate ever greater environmental degradation.

The Labour Party manifesto, in brilliant contrast, lays out a clear pathway to a more just and equitable society. It calls for the revival of tried and trusted policies that produced the most prosperous societies in human history in the post-World War II era. At its heart, the Labour programme is about redistributing wealth, empowering workers and allocating resources to social necessities (health, education, housing, and green energy infrastructure) that the market won’t fund. The plan creates jobs and puts money into the pockets of people who need it and will spend it, generating further wealth.  Don’t believe anyone that says it isn’t possible. 

The choice that British voters face on Thursday is stark.  We in the United States know first hand the results of the neoliberal austerity that the Conservatives will continue. We have lived under that regime for decades and the situation in the United States is dire. Poverty and homelessness are rampant. Housing and healthcare unaffordable. Debt loads are soaring. It’s almost impossible to make ends meet with a basic job. The once vast middle class is evaporating. All wealth goes to the already wealthy. Democracy is in serious peril. 

Also, please understand, it’s neoliberalism that produced President Donald Trump.

Opposing Labour is a Tory Party led by the UK’s Trump, Boris Johnson; a man as self-serving as the US President, with equal contempt for the constitution and democratic principle. Johnson will join the growing ranks of ethnonationalist autocratic rulers: Erdogan, Modi, Bolsonaro, Putin, Orban, et al. Have no illusions, a Johnson victory will be seen as the greatest triumph yet for global Trumpism.

How does Brexit figure into this? It’s simple: would you rather have a relationship with Europe designed to favour the interests of international finance capital and the wealthy (as put together by Johnson) or one that foregrounds the concerns of average people and workers, as Corbyn would pursue? Even better, Corbyn would allow a final public vote on the deal he negotiates.

There is a cacophony of noise being raised against Labour and its leader by the elite and their courtiers. There is a reason for this. They know that a Corbyn victory means the end of the reign of high finance, the end of the oligarchy. 

The neoliberal era began in the UK 40 years ago. On Thursday, British voters can launch a new era of economic prosperity and justice for all. In an uncanny act of historical symmetry, we in the US can join with you next year.

A Labour victory will be a beacon for the world. 

Alan Minsky

Executive director, Progressive Democrats of America

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