Jeremy Corbyn is unquestionably right when he says upholding democracy should be at the forefront of Labour MPs minds when they vote on Article 50 next week; there is no more basic duty for an elected representative to perform.
Corbyn, though, has come to the wrong conclusion despite having the right motive. If upholding democracy is as vital as he and we believe it to be, those whom he leads should vote against the motion and prevent Britain from becoming subordinate to an American fascist.
In normal circumstances, the wishes of the electorate, as determined by a referendum, should be sacrosanct regardless of whether the strong possibility exists that self-harm awaits. These, though, are not normal circumstances, they are anything but.
We live in a time when the excesses of Donald Trump are already there for all to see and when Theresa May’s willingness to appease him is already evident.
We live in a time when the USA, at Trump’s behest, is showing scant regard for civil rights to the point at which the rest of the world looks on aghast. We live in a time when the British government is prepared to turn a blind eye to those abuses as long as its own citizens do not suffer. Sweetheart deals are being done and they are of the kind that fly in the face of any idea of what democracy is or what it should be.
As a political party, Labour cannot look to uphold democracy on a national basis if doing so helps to undermine democracy on a global scale. The first question Corbyn should ask himself every morning in the current climate is what can he and his party do to restrict Trump or, at the very least, stand up to him and if he still believes supporting the triggering of Article 50 is the right way to go he should have the decency to admit that democracy is not his priority.
That Brexit is pushing Britain even further into the arms of America is not in any doubt. May’s desperate dangling of a state visit to Trump told us everything that we need to know about how lopsided the so-called “special relationship” now is.
It is special to Trump because it lends him a credibility and guarantees an ally, seemingly regardless of what he does or how he behaves. It is special to May because it gives her a sugar daddy, albeit one who is known to be a tyrannical megalomaniac who thinks it’s okay to torture.
None of this was on the Brexit ticket. This is a lurch so far away from what was expected when people cast their votes on June 23 last year that the outcome should prompt caution and instead we’re going head first into a scenario that will distance us from Europe and bring us closer to Trump.
Forget the lies of the Brexit campaign and forget the potential for economic and social breakdown that they brought, this is a moment of even greater significance than our own national wellbeing, it is a fork in the road moment for all of us and if we opt to take the road that Trump is ready to lead us down it will be one of the darkest days in this country’s history.
We now know that the Brexit bill is likely to be passed without major amendment as the threat of Tory rebellion subsides so the threat of the will of the people being thwarted no longer exists. We will get Brexit and we will get everything that goes with it, including a hand in hand relationship with Trump, but Labour MPs should not be compelled acquiescence by a three line whip just because of Corbyn’s misjudgement.
No-one could have predicted with any degree of certainty that this is where we would be when the referendum took place seven months ago but where we are is where we are. Trump is the President, May is the Prime Minister and the world is a more dangerous place.
To ignore those factors, those huge changes to the global scene, and nod through a bill that puts us on a reckless course to God knows where would not be upholding democracy, it would jeopardise it. In the short term, Labour might suffer electorally but given they would not thrive anyway, they have little to lose and much to gain by determining that while Brexit will happen, it will not happen in their name.
