The British leader’s address at the PODEMOS session aroused big interest as the left parties are fighting a grim battle in different European countries to block the advance of the right wing parties by taking advantage of the economic crisis and the unemployment of youth. The right wing resurgence is depending on the common people’s antipathy towards the immigrants, who they think, are creating shortage of jobs for the locals. Corbyn exposed the game of the Right in Europe and called for vigilance by the left and other anti right forces.

According to the British leader, ‘as we look to build a united left across Europe, there are three key issues that can form the basis of a strong, powerful movement: anti-austerity, peace and opposition to the far right. Europe is heading toward a renewed era of austerity. We have witnessed attacks on wages and conditions all over Europe. Working-class living standards have fallen. Wages have stagnated. Meanwhile, there are more billionaires than ever before’.

Corbyn mentioned inequality is not inevitable. It is the result of decisions that governments take to take money from the many and give it to the few. Last week, the British government celebrated its 100-day anniversary. In that time, it has made two supposedly “tough” choices. One is to keep children in poverty by retaining the two-child benefits cap, refusing to lift 250,000 children out of poverty. The second decision was to cut the winter fuel allowance for 10 million pensioners.

The Left leader explained the government knows that there is a range of choices available to them. They could introduce wealth taxes to raise upwards of £10 billion. They could stop wasting public money on private contracts. They could launch a fundamental redistribution of power by bringing water and energy into full public ownership. Instead, they have opted to take resources away from people who were promised things would change. There is plenty of money, it’s just in the wrong hands — and we will not be fooled by ministers’ attempts to feign regret over cruel decisions they know they don’t have to take.

‘Austerity is not a tough choice. It is the wrong choice. The British government tells us there is no money. At the very same time, they are committing to raising defence expenditure to 2.5 per cent of GDP.’

He said ‘Security is not the ability to threaten and destroy your neighbour. Security is getting on with your neighbour. It’s when our children can be confident of a habitable future. It’s when human beings are not displaced by poverty, destitution and war. And it’s when everybody has enough resources to live a happy and healthy life.’

In the context of the present war waged by Israel, the British leader said ‘The world is at war. We need to be working toward peace. The government has recently announced £600 million for Ukraine. We should be working to find solutions, not ramping up the arms race and increasing the risk of escalation. All wars have to end with some kind of conference or diplomatic solution. Why not do it now to save thousands of lives?’

According to him, there is only one industry that benefits from endless war — the arms industry. He said he recently released a book with his friends Paul Rogers, Rhona Michie and Andrew Feinstein, Monstrous Anger of the Guns, which helps to understand why these wars go on and on and on. Whether that’s in Ukraine or whether in places the media never cover: Sudan, West Papua and the DRC. In all these wars, the global arms trade makes billions from the loss of human life and the destruction of our planet. Of course, this is most apparent right now in Gaza., he said.

Corbyn mentioned that at least 41,000 people have been killed. In reality, the number is much higher. The Lancet Medical Journal has estimated the death toll at 186,000. That includes deaths from famine and disease. 97,000 Palestinians have been wounded. 157 Palestinian journalists have been killed. There are zero fully functioning hospitals in Gaza.

He said people talk about Gaza as a humanitarian crisis. But the truth is: it’s not a humanitarian crisis. It’s a genocide aided and abetted by governments, including our own. We are witnessing the total erasure of Palestine. Our message to the government is clear: wake up to the gravity of the horrors you have enabled and what is on the horizon without urgent de-escalation.

The British leader said that Governments across Europe are not just fuelling the machinery of war. They are abandoning and demonising those who are left to suffer the consequences. There are more refugees fleeing the horrors of war, as well as persecution and environmental disaster, than ever before. Our solidarity is with all those who have been displaced from their homes and are looking for a place of safety.

‘When politicians demonise migrants, the far right listens. When they say refugees should be “sent back to where they came from,” the far right listens. When they complain about asylum-seekers staying in hotels, the far right listens.’

Corbyn said we will not defeat a politics of hatred without a politics of hope. To challenge fear and division, we need to tell positive stories of immigration — how our lives have been enriched by those who happen to have been born elsewhere. Above all, let’s start treating migrants as people just like you and me.

Finally, the British MP said ‘It’s time for the left to be resolute and determined in the face of racism. We cannot pander to the far-right. We cannot concede ground. Instead, let’s defend refugees. Let’s stand up to racism. Let’s inspire belief in a better world. That is how you defeat the far right once and for all’. (IPA Service)