| No2EU – Yes to Democracy | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Bob Crow |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Ideology | Alter-globalisation, Socialism, Euroscepticism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| Website | |
| http://www.no2eu.com/ | |
| Politics of the United Kingdom Political parties Elections |
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No2EU – Yes to Democracy is a left-wing electoral alliance which was initiated by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) to contest the June 2009 European elections in the United Kingdom. The party fielded candidates only in Great Britain.[1] In addition to the RMT, the coalition includes:
It also experiences support from some members of Respect – The Unity Coalition and of the Socialist Workers Party.
The No2EU:Yes to Democracy coalition is unique in that it is the first instance in recent history of a national trade union officially putting its support behind an electoral presence other than the Labour Party.[2]
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According to its press statements it stands in opposition to the perceived xenophobic, nationalist and pro-business policies of existing euro-critical parties and the pro-EU mainstream parties. Bob Crow, the party's lead candidate in London has said he is "not against workers coming into the country", unlike other Eurosceptic groupings, but he is against "two workers from different countries competing against each other on different rates of pay" and added that "Our main role will be out there among working people, giving them our support and helping to save their industries from privatisation".[3]
Among other candidates were the former Labour MP Dave Nellist and former Labour Group Leader on East Sussex County Council Professor Dave Hill.
No2EU stands for a Europe of "independent, democratic states that value its public services and does not offer them to profiteers; a Europe that guarantees the rights of workers and does not put the interests of big business above that of ordinary people". They believe that the current EU structure makes this impossible.
The main policies are:
No2EU received 153,236 votes or 1% of the national vote failing to win a seat at the European parliament and finishing in 11th place, behind Arthur Scargill's Socialist Labour Party. The regional breakdown of the vote was as follows.
| Constituency | Candidates | Votes[4] | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | John McEwan, Avtar Sadiq, Jean Thorpe, Shangara Singh Gahonia, Laurence Platt | 11,375 | 0.9 |
| East of England | Brian Denny, Frank Jepson, Steve Glennon, Phil Katz, Eleanor Donne, Pete Relph, Ron Rodwell | 13,939 | 0.9 |
| London | Bob Crow, John Hendy, Mary Davis, Kevin Nolan, Syed Islam, Onay Kasab, John Rowe, Nick Wrack | 17,758 | 1.0 |
| North East England | Martin Levy, Hannah Walter, Peter Pinkney | 8,066 | 1.4 |
| North West England | Roger Bannister, Les Skarrot, Craig Johnston, Alec McFadden, Steve Radford, Lynn Worthington, John Metcalfe, Harry Smith | 23,580 | 1.4 |
| South East England | Dave Hill, Garry Hassell, Kevin Hayes, Owen Morris, Gawain Little, Robert Wilkinson, Jacqui Berry, Nick Wright, Nick Chaffey, Sarah Wrack | 21,455 | 0.9 |
| South West England | Alex Gordon, Roger Davey, Rachel Lynch, Nick Quirk, John Chambers, Paul Dyer | 9,741 | 0.6 |
| West Midlands | David Nellist, Dyal Singh Bagri, Malcolm Gribbin, Jo Stevenson, Peter MacLaren, Andy Chaffer | 13,415 | 1.0 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | Keith Gibson, Celia Foote, Jackie Grunsell, Peter Marsh, Mike Davies, Juliet Marie Boddington | 15,614 | 1.3 |
| Wales | Robert Griffiths, Rob Williams, Laura Picand, Trevor Jones | 8,600 | 1.3 |
| Scotland | John Foster, Tommy Sheridan, Leah Ganley, Stuart Hyslop, Ajit Singh Uppal, Tom Morrison | 9,693 | 0.9 |