Will a hard-Brexit bring about austerity and huge cuts in services?
I think that it will and also that it is planned. For all that the Leave campaign talked about immigration cuts, taking back control and national sovereignty, that is not their real agenda.
The hard-Brexiteers who are attacking May for her compromise deal want to remake the British economy along the lines of the South East Asian countries. This means lower taxes (for the rich and for corporations), less re-take (meaning safety legislation and worker protections) and a smaller state (meaning less money for schools and hospitals). This is a Brexit which will benefit the rich and upper-middle class at the expense of most of those who voted for Brexit.
This was not what has been sold to the public but it is what the pro-Brexit wing of the Conservative Party want according to their published work:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/13/tory-brexiteers-plan-2019-britain-conservative
If you don't believe me, look at the people involved. When have the right of the Tory Party ever cared about working class people? They've busted unions and imposed austerity cuts whenever they've had the chance. The media who are pro-hard-Brexit include the Murdoch owned Sun, the Express, and the Daily Mail.
So why are they coy about this agenda in public? Its because it would be unpopular with the British people. The public wants more money for the NHS, not less. They think lower taxes for the rich are unfair and want a more equal society. This goes for both Remain and Brexit voters.
However, you can get people to accept this kind of agenda under conditions of an economic crisis and a hard-Brexit would necessarily cause that crisis. Remember how the 2007/08 financial crash was caused by the banking sector and used as an excuse for austerity cuts? Expect the same again, only worse. If the Tory Brexiteers get their way; expect the EU to be blamed and expect cuts in public services and worker protections in the name of taking back control. This is what Naomi Klein talked about in her book 'The Shock Doctrine'. It's about how disaster capitalism takes advantage of a political and economic turbulence to impose its own will on an otherwise unsympathetic population.
The hard-Brexiteers who are attacking May for her compromise deal want to remake the British economy along the lines of the South East Asian countries. This means lower taxes (for the rich and for corporations), less re-take (meaning safety legislation and worker protections) and a smaller state (meaning less money for schools and hospitals). This is a Brexit which will benefit the rich and upper-middle class at the expense of most of those who voted for Brexit.
This was not what has been sold to the public but it is what the pro-Brexit wing of the Conservative Party want according to their published work:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/13/tory-brexiteers-plan-2019-britain-conservative
If you don't believe me, look at the people involved. When have the right of the Tory Party ever cared about working class people? They've busted unions and imposed austerity cuts whenever they've had the chance. The media who are pro-hard-Brexit include the Murdoch owned Sun, the Express, and the Daily Mail.
So why are they coy about this agenda in public? Its because it would be unpopular with the British people. The public wants more money for the NHS, not less. They think lower taxes for the rich are unfair and want a more equal society. This goes for both Remain and Brexit voters.
However, you can get people to accept this kind of agenda under conditions of an economic crisis and a hard-Brexit would necessarily cause that crisis. Remember how the 2007/08 financial crash was caused by the banking sector and used as an excuse for austerity cuts? Expect the same again, only worse. If the Tory Brexiteers get their way; expect the EU to be blamed and expect cuts in public services and worker protections in the name of taking back control. This is what Naomi Klein talked about in her book 'The Shock Doctrine'. It's about how disaster capitalism takes advantage of a political and economic turbulence to impose its own will on an otherwise unsympathetic population.
41-45, M
