These are the elections that were never meant to be. The elections that Britain’s government promised, categorically, would never take place in the UK again. And yet here we are, about to take part, after all, in EU-wide polls for the European Parliament and confronted with the all too familiar sight of the UK’s old political parties going through the electoral motions.
Yet this campaign feels strangely quiet. The Tories are squirming with anxiety at having to field candidates in an election they promised never to contest, for terms they promised no British MEP would ever serve. Labour are contorted in their now-familiar bind — unable or unwilling to get off the Brexit fence. This is symptomatic of the mess Britain is in.
There are turning points in history, moments which set the course of global affairs for good or ill. The fall of communism and its aftermath was one such moment, the impact of the global financial crisis another. I was involved in both, in the first as economic adviser to the Polish government during the very first transition from a planned to a market economy, and in the second as finance minister of Poland from 2007 to 2013.
Britain now finds itself at another global turning point. That is why I have decided to stand as a candidate for Change UK in these, the most unique UK elections in a generation. We want to fix the Brexit mess by championing a fresh referendum and committing to campaigning to Remain. Despite the Brexiters’ arguments to the contrary, it is not the current debate, or the prospects of the so-called people’s vote that are tearing the country apart — it is the process of Brexit itself.
Change UK is bringing together people who are new to politics, and those deeply disillusioned with the state of the pre-existing parties. More than ever in this moment of national crisis, we cannot be held back by the old loyalties.
As is now clear, Brexit will weaken both the UK and Europe, politically and economically. It will give succour to populist forces throughout the west as well as external adversaries who wish to see us divided, such as Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Isis. More immediately, it will cause massive disruption in the lives of the hundreds of thousands of Londoners who are EU citizens (and the millions of Britons who live in the EU). Anyone who doesn’t believe that should attempt to complete the registration forms for EU nationals on the Home Office website — but have a stiff drink first!
Brexit is collapsing around us as its internal contradictions, and the lies on which the 2016 vote to leave the EU was built, slowly reveal themselves. But to win the battle to stop Brexit we need our own turning point — and our best chance is this European election.
As a Londoner born and educated, a dual Polish-British citizen, the capital is where I can make the biggest contribution. I stand with the many who feel that Brexit is the greatest threat facing them and their families, those who want the right to have a say on it here in the UK, whether in London or elsewhere, as is their right. We encourage as many EU citizens as possible to register to vote, and to vote for Change UK. The deadline for registration is May 7.
If elected, Change UK’s MEPs’ first task in the European Parliament will be to advocate and negotiate for the time that Britain needs to find its way calmly out of Brexit, and resolve the mess. There are voices in Europe — voices I know well — that show impatience with the Conservative and Labour parties’ unending psychodramas. Such reactions need to be resisted. Patience in politics is always wiser than petulance.
We are determined to give a real alternative to those who have been forgotten and taken for granted in this debate. The old parties made a mess — they must now stand aside for new forces to clean up. They owe the public at least that.
The writer is a Change UK candidate and was finance minister of Poland 2007-13 and deputy prime minister in 2013
