Why now, more than ever, we need to stand up for Europe
As the 2019 European elections loom on the horizon, many Brits seem nonplussed or even completely unaware about what impact the outcome of the votes on 23–26 May will have on the stability of Europe.
And it’s hardly surprising. Ever since the first election for MEPs in 1979, voter turnout has decreased at an alarming rate, with a turnout of just 35.6% across the continent in the last election alone. No prizes for correctly assuming that the UK was one of the worst performers, and in 1999 had a turnout as low as 24%. This, coincidentally, was the year Nigel Farage first graced us with his presence.
Despite the UK no longer partaking in these elections*, they are still critical as we try to stem the unrelenting tide of populism throughout the continent. The uncomfortable truth is that throughout the past four decades, the European parliamentary elections have actually managed to fuel the resurgence of populist groups in Europe, by acting as a barometer of anti-government feeling throughout the EU member states.
Take for example, UKIP. Before Farage burst on the scene with his theatrical rants about British parliamentary sovereignty, UKIP’s popularity amongst voters was virtually non-existent. Yet Farage’s melodramatic style of simply insulting all the institutions around him became popular by being immediately recorded, uploaded onto YouTube and disseminated around the world to his millions of social media followers.
It did not take long for other European populists to follow, and it is telling that the right wing, Matteo Salvini with his staunchly anti-immigration rhetoric, transformed himself from being an MEP in Brussels to the Deputy Leader of the country. This is a politician who was apparently prepared to spend multiple hours simply standing for selfies with his followers.
Matteo Salvini has weaponised the selfie to recruit supporters
It has all reached the point at which 30 renowned intellectuals have stated that Europe is “coming apart before our eyes”. The recent diplomatic spat between France and Italy could be sign of further worries to come, namely the disintegration of Europe.
How have we ended up here? Ultimately, this upsurge in populism is due to the frustration of European citizens with the major ‘establishment’ parties. But the Lib Dems offer a credible alternative that doesn’t trash the institutions that make our country stable. Most importantly, it shows to people that there is a growing platform for views that are socially liberal and economically sound.
The Lib Dems strongly believe that the UK should remain in the EU to reform it. Yet crucially, unlike UKIP, the Lib Dems would actually engage with the EU so that Britain’s interests can be best represented an institution of shared control. It would actually attend committee meetings, partake in votes, put forward amendments, and play a crucial role in creating EU legislation. The whole point of the European project is that sovereignty is pooled in order to be preserved. This way we can shut down the likes of Piers Morgan who decries that we had EU membership for 43 years, tried to reform it and we didn’t get anywhere.
UKIP has taken an even darker turn under Gerard Batten (right)
So as Nigel receives his official approval from the Electoral Commission for his convincingly named ‘Brexit Party’, let us be a force for decent politics that do not result in total anarchy for this country. And by all means, stand up to the overtly far-right and racist organisation that the remnants of UKIP have become.
*NB. This is only as the Brexit negotiations currently stand. Various sources in the EU institutions fear the possibility of the next European Parliament being illegally constituted and so have insisted that the UK must participate in these elections in the event of the Art 50 process being extended beyond the Summer.