Labour should seize the chance of European elections – it will allow us to fight the far right and rattle the Tories

There have been many twists and turns in the Brexit saga. Deadlines for decisions have approached, only for the can to be kicked further down the road again and again... and again. The latest deadline is the need to decide by 12 April whether or not to apply for a long extension in order to fully work through the Tory-led chaos we find ourselves in.

Theresa May’s deal, rejected by parliament on three occasions, would leave us with the worst of both worlds, tied to rules over which we have no control, but with ten more years of exhausting Brexit mess and with our rights and economy in the hands of a new right wing Tory prime minister. A customs union-based deal would barely be better. Labour has now backed a confirmatory public vote on Brexit, in line with its democratically established policy and the views of the overwhelming majority of its members.

To achieve this, or even to get a softer Brexit, we need more time. Labour should recognise this and prepare for a longer extension – including the need to go ahead with the European elections on 23 May.

The prospect of the UK participating in the European elections worries some in the labour movement, including many of those clamouring for a general election. They say it would be divisive, but would a general election – which we all want – not also be divisive in the current climate? In some quarters, the fear of “undermining democracy” has been hyped up. But the reality is that the entire Brexit process has undermined democracy, with a set of undeliverable ideas promised by fantasists.

The European elections would provide everyone, across our many political divides, to express their views. We exist as a party to fight and win elections, and any election presents Labour with an opportunity to advance its socialist alternative to Tory austerity and hard-right nationalism. European elections could also help break the Brexit deadlock, with a renewed expression of the will of the people moving things along.

But there is an added significance here. Insurgent populist and racist far-right parties are set to make substantial gains across the continent at these elections. This poses a huge threat to even vaguely progressive politics in Europe. The far right could end up appointing chairs of key European Parliament committees, blocking legislation, scaling back freedom of movement, tightening already violent borders and halting progress on the environment.

The left across Europe faces the same fight as we do. That fight is against a resurgent far-right whose aim it is to undermine multilateralism and return to the division and hatred of the past. Orban, Le Pen and Salvini all benefit from a weakened left and from the rising nationalism that they in turn stoke. Meanwhile, Trump’s old pal Steve Bannon has stepped up his efforts to coordinate far right thugs across the continent, attempting to organise them into a new “nationalist international”.

To walk away now, as some in our movement advocate, would be to capitulate to this global, cross-border threat. It would be precisely the opposite of solidarity and internationalism, and particularly damaging given the importance of our Labour Party within the ecosystem of the European left.

The British Labour Party is now the leading light of the left in Europe with its radical policies, its success at the last general election and its soaring membership. Many of the traditional centre-left parties of European social democracy have faced stagnation and, more commonly, rapid decline. We have seen how “Pasokification” has not only tanked the traditional party of Greek social democracy, but also the neoliberalised centre-left parties of the Netherlands, France and Germany.

That’s why Labour is a beacon of hope, showing that if the left is bold, radical and assertive, it can buck the trend and make a comeback. As Corbyn himself has said: “if the left across Europe stands up against austerity, fulfils its historic mission of the redistribution of wealth and power across society, then we are taking away the space that the far-right are trying to invade.” Our comrades on the continent know this too.

In Britain, the politics of the right and far right is making advances, but it is also in a kind of crisis. Yes, the Tories have adopted much of the racist right’s ideas, with their hostile environment for migrants. Brexit has emboldened reactionaries up and down the country. But UKIP is on its knees, and Farage’s “Brexit Party” is virtually unknown, with no party infrastructure. The pro-Brexit movement is divided across a range of parties and groupings.

This all presents Labour with a fantastic opportunity to grab the initiative, promote progressive politics and shift the entire debate in our favour. For ourselves and our European friends, we should seize it and win the European elections on 23 May.

Shaista Aziz is a journalist, former aid worker and current councillor in Oxford. Nadia Whittome is a Labour activist and supporter of Another Europe is Possible based in Nottingham