No2EU is a left-wing Eurosceptic electoral alliance in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It was first founded in 2009 when it campaigned under the campaign slogan ''No2EU — Yes to Democracy''; it was led by

Bob Crow Robert Crow (13 June 196111 March 2014) was an English trade union leader who served as the General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) from 2002 until his death in 2014. He was also a member of the Gen ...

and backed by the

National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (commonly known as the RMT) is a British trade union covering the transport sector. Its current President is Alex Gordon and its current General Secretary is Mick Lynch. The RMT is on ...

(RMT), who provided most of its funding, the

Communist Party of Britain The Communist Party of Britain (CPB) is a communist party in Great Britain which emerged from a dispute between Eurocommunists and Marxist-Leninists in the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1988. It follows Marxist-Leninist theory and s ...

and

Solidarity (Scotland) Solidarity – Scotland's Socialist Movement was a political party in Scotland. The party launched on 3 September 2006, founded by two former Scottish Socialist Party MSPs, Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne, in the aftermath of Sheridan's libe ...

among others. It participated in the

2009 European Parliament elections The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Member of the European Parliament, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent so ...

and the European elections in 2014 with the party name "No2EU" and the campaign slogan ''No2EU — Yes to Workers' Rights''. The organisation is now known as Trade Unionists Against the EU.

Summary of main policies

No2EU's declared position is for a Europe of "democratic states that value 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". This, it contested, is impossible within the current European Union structure and it calls for a withdrawal from the EU. In keeping with its socialist position it campaigns for public ownership of some national industries and investment in public services. It is hostile to fascist politics, acting as an 'internationalist alternative' to the perceived

xenophobic Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

positions of existing far-right eurosceptic parties. Tensions arising from the free movement of labour are explained as an economic issue, for example

has stated that he is against "two workers from different countries competing against each other on different rates of pay".

History

No2EU – Yes to Democracy was initiated by the to contest the June 2009 European Parliament elections. In addition to the , the coalition included: * Alliance for Green Socialism *

Indian Workers' Association The Indian Workers' Association (IWA) is a political organisation in Great Britain which consists of Indian immigrants to Britain and their descendants. IWA branches are organised in some major cities such as Birmingham and London. As one of ...

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

* Solidarity This was notable as the first instance in recent history of a British trade union officially putting its support behind a national electoral presence other than the Labour Party, though the RMT had set some precedent in Scotland when it backed the

Scottish Socialist Party The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP; gd, Pàrtaidh Sòisealach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Socialist Pairtie) is a left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an independent socialist Scotland. The party was founded in 1998. It c ...

2009 European Parliament election

No2EU received 153,236 votes or 1% of the national vote, winning no seats and finishing in 11th place behind

Arthur Scargill Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938) is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. He is best known for leading the UK miners' strike (1984–85), a major event in the history of ...

's Socialist Labour Party. The alliance only fielded candidates in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, none in Northern Ireland. The regional breakdown of the vote was as follows: After the election, activity dwindled and the campaign was statutorily de-registered by the Electoral Commission on 2 November 2010.

2014 European Parliament election

On 16 October 2013, the campaign re-registered with the Electoral Commission, consisting of an alliance of the RMT, the

and the

, ready to contest the 2014 European Parliament election. For 2014, the slate used the party name of "No2EU" Use the Registration Search function to search for 'No2EU' and click on the EC Reference Number (PP 2164) to display registration details. and the campaign slogan ''No2EU – Yes to workers' rights''. No2EU – Yes to Workers' Rights stood 46 candidates in seven regions in the 22 May euro election including London, North West, Eastern, Wales, Scotland, Yorks and Humber and West Midlands. The candidates were as follows: No2EU deregistered as a political party on 1 November 2014. It did not contest the 2019 European Parliament elections.

European Parliament

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:No to EU - Yes to Democracy Communist Party of Britain Eurosceptic parties in the United Kingdom Socialist parties in the United Kingdom Socialist Party (England and Wales) Political party alliances in the United Kingdom 2009 in British politics 2009 establishments in the United Kingdom Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom