Labour activist Tom King on the European election results

On the whole I disagree with this article by Labour activist Tom King on the European election results:  http://soasspirit.co.uk/opinions/european-results-are-a-warning-for-labour/

• The European election results were not about austerity – in the United Kingdom the elections were a referendum on immigration and a verdict on the lack of democratic consent for immigration policies that have been pursued since 1997.

• Sinn Féin are a party that puts “identity politics” first and foremost – their success mirrors that of the Front National in France.

• The position in Greece is complex, but I think you are being overly-Marxist in seeing the rollercoaster political reaction as being about “austerity”.  When a society experiences instability it will react by opting for “security” (security tends to trump freedom in conditions of social breakdown).  Both Syriza and Golden Dawn are similar in that they promise “clampdowns” on what they see (in their various ideological ways) as anti-social behaviour by groups they disapprove of.

• “the Liberal Democrats in Britain, who, whilst not a centre-left party” – what planet are you on!  The Liberal Democrats are in manifesto terms extremely left-wing, far more so than Labour.  They are experiencing wipe-out because they put their heads over the parapet in championing open-door immigration and ever-greater European integration.