Tariq Ali on the U.K. Election, Brexit & How the Tories Were “Taken Over by the Extreme Right Wing”

Voters in the United Kingdom head to the polls on Dec. 12, following a five-week campaign dominated by Brexit. The issue has paralyzed British politics since the 2016 referendum, in which a majority of voters in Britain voted to leave the European Union. The Conservative Party, led by Boris Johnson, is campaigning on a promise to “get Brexit done” once and for all, despite the political, social and economic dangers of leaving the bloc. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has promised to hold a second Brexit referendum if elected prime minister, while campaigning on ambitious promises including free tuition, expanded public services, the introduction of a 32-hour work week, and more.

We continue our conversation with Tariq Ali, historian, activist, filmmaker, author and an editor of the New Left Review. He says the Conservative Party has been “taken over by the extreme right wing” while Corbyn’s Labour is pushing a “radical social-democratic program.”