On 29 March the government gave formal notice that Britain will depart from the EU once and for all time. Now Article 50 has been invoked and the clock is ticking.
We are throwing off the shackles of the misnamed European Union, which seeks only to dictate and deny sovereignty. By March 2019 we must be out.
It was truly a day to celebrate.
In 1975 the British people did not believe we could run our own affairs. The referendum vote then was by more than 2 to 1 to throw in our lot with the European Economic Community, to ask it to please manage Britain for us (actually, for its own interests).
Last year this woeful decision was finally reversed. On 23 June 2016 we declared our intention to Leave.
The people have shown we want a sovereign Britain. We have declared confidence in ourselves to determine the country’s future without any instruction from Brussels or Berlin.
We know that we can and must control our economy, our laws, our borders, and we expect the government to act accordingly. There can be no backsliding, no fudges. Only full independence will do. Push aside any who still wish to block it.
The blockers are fewer and fewer but they are dangerous enemies of the people and the country. They want to hand us back to foreign control.
All who desire a successful Britain must determine to see this through, engage in the discussion and planning for the future, and act to carry it out. So far some sections have started on that task, most notably the fishermen (see page 6). But the opportunities are there for every area.
There are difficult times ahead – inevitable with such a huge change, although the blockers will blame every problem on Brexit.
The blockers are careful not to mention the serious and fundamental problems we would have if we remained in the EU. Consumer price inflation jumped to 2.3 per cent in February – blame Brexit! Never mind that it was 2.2 per cent in Germany in the same month. The City speculators and those who hang on their every word have a track record of poor prediction. They can’t even see what’s happening now!
We have faced difficult times before and overcome them. We can do so again if we seize the opportunity we have created.
Workers who wish to see Britain a united and independent nation will need to use any opportunity – including an election – to support the forces which are fighting for this, most important, outcome.
But no victory can be secure unless we the working class act in our own interests and cease to rely on “representatives” to do it for us. At the moment as a class we are still, largely, spectators, alternately grumbling and applauding as events unfold. As we move into the next phase of the battle for Britain’s real independence, that must change.
This is a revised version of Article 50: A day to celebrate