NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE
Jeremy Corbyn’s election to lead the Labour Party could turn out to give a massive boost to the National psyche of the Isle of Man.
Nationalists both with Mec Vannin, and those people unaffiliated to a political organisation but who regard themselves as nationalists, have long warned that the inability of the Island to have complete sovereignty can and will ultimately pose a threat
Outside of the nationalist movement it is also an object lesson in why it’s dangerous for this community to become too fixated on what emanates from the country to the East, England.
I say ‘England’ because, lets get real, the two main political parties in the United Kingdom are really English political parties centred on Westminster. The Conservatives have long been a party whose fiefdom mainly encapsulated the area of England to the South of Manchester and Labours claim to weld working people together throughout the UK has all but ceased to be a reality. In Scotland Labour no longer really exists, in the North of Ireland it never did and in Wales, although it holds the Assembly, large areas of its traditional heartland is lost.
Corbyn therefore, if a threat he is, personifies a threat from the Westminster political system to the Isle of Man.
However let’s not get ahead of ourselves. His mutterings about the dependencies both before and during his election campaign are just that, the usual mouthings from Labour politicians which have come to personify their attitude to us. Indeed there may well be more than a grain of truth in what Corbyn says about our tax haven status (see the latest CBC tax evasion allegations). Link:
https://www.celticleague.net/news/are-we-stealing-other-countries-tax-receipts/
However if there are problems with the way the Manx run their affairs then Manx people should ‘shape up’ and sort them out.
It is presumptuous of Jeremy Corbyn, or anyone else in another country, to deign to legislate over our heads. Indeed that is the very antithesis of the so called democratic socialism he espouses.
Anyway ‘don’t panic’ Corbyn will be preoccupied with both internal Labour Party divisions and a hostile establishment (personified by the media which is already in top gear) for sometime. He cannot get a crack at government unless something seismic occurs for another four years at least.
However if he weathers the storms there is a good chance despite all the naysayers that he will succeed. The normal ‘left-right’ oscillation of politics on the adjacent Island could swing in his favour.
In the intervening period Corbyn will no doubt when pushed into a corner use the dependencies and their ‘tax haven status’ as a useful distraction from matters domestic.
Corbyn therefore presents a threat and an opportunity. The Island can use the four years to disentangle itself from the United Kingdom and also tackle in a radical and open manner its latest financial scandals, such as NAMA and the CBC allegations. Alternatively it can wait and if Corbyn does achieve that elusive prize power suffer the consequences of any changes a future Labour government will seek to impose.
So its threat or opportunity time for the Manx people!
BERNARD MOFFATT
Issued by: The Celtic News
13/09/15
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The Celtic League established in 1961 has branches in the six Celtic Countries. It promotes cooperation between the countries and campaigns on a range of political, cultural and environmental matters. It highlights human rights abuse, military activity and socio-economic issues
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