For people suffering under austerity Corbyn is the answer, not the EU | Holly Rigby
When I tell people that I voted in favour of leaving the EU in 2016, my statement is often followed by an awkward pause. Sometimes, the reaction is openly hostile; did I not realise that my vote had enabled racists and power-hungry Tories to destroy the country? In an era where to be anti-Brexit has become a symbol of progressive credentials, my leave vote is seen as a transgression against a cosmopolitan, liberal ideal.
But the truth is that I am not alone: 35% of Labour voters such as me also voted for Brexit. Not only that, but polls of my fellow Labour party members on their desire for a second referendum are far from conclusive. This is because there have always been strong, anti-capitalist arguments for leaving the European Union. The reality is that the EU project is far more about neoliberal free trade for the rich and punishing austerity for the poor than about Aperol spritz, discounted Zara coats and Erasmus study programmes.
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