A neo-Nazi by the name of Thomas Mair shouted "Britain first" as he brutally slew the British Labour MP Jo Cox last Thursday. At his first court appearance, when asked to confirm his name, Mair declared, "Death to traitors, freedom for Britain." Initially, the media and politicians attempted to portray this killing as the act of a lone madman; and so, anyone connecting the killing to the forthcoming referendum regarding membership of the European Union (EU) was walking a tightrope. As his links to fascism became clear, this tack became increasingly untenable. This is not to say supporters of the Brexit are racist, but the main impulse behind the OUT campaign came from the right wing of British politics.

The Brexit is the main policy objective of the far right UK Independence Party (UKIP), who blame almost every social problem on immigration. And the Brexit is also supported by the right-wing of the Conservative party, which is split down the middle on the issue. The referendum has inflamed a racist sentiment in society.

Jo Cox MP was first elected to parliament last year. Like almost all Labour MPs, she campaigned for Britain to remain inside the European Union. Cox also dedicated her time, energy and passion to highlight the desperate plight of Syrian refugees arriving in Europe.

Indeed, the refugee crisis has exacerbated tensions all over Europe as it has strained welfare budgets in times of austerity; challenging the capacity of state authorities to satisfy the additional demand placed on public services by mass migration. Based on the current demographic projections, Brexit supporters show that to cope with the housing demand, the country would need to build 240 homes a day (87,600 homes a year) for the next 20 years. Although, why Britain should be unable to build this amount of homes has not been explained. It is simply the dominant consensus that this is impossible.

However, China built or rebuilt 7.2 million publicly subsidised apartments or houses every year between 2011 and 2015. Taking account of population differences, Britain would have to build 343,000 apartments a year to match China's current per-capita state house building program. China builds homes at nearly 4 times the rate of what is considered impossible in Britain.

Britain will vote in a referendum on whether to leave the European Union (EU) on June 23. According to recent opinion polls, the OUT campaign has a majority support. However, I expect that the killing of Jo Cox will shift this mood towards a REMAIN vote. With economic problems and austerity affecting millions, the focus of the leave campaign has automatically gravitated to the issue of uncontrolled immigration from the EU. As citizens of EU member states have the right to free movement and the freedom to take employment in any EU country.

There is a popular sentiment that immigration is overstraining a wide range of services such as healthcare, housing, employment and schooling. Consequently, the right-wing of the Conservative Party and the UK Independence Party completely dominate the Brexit camp and its agenda. So, although there are some left-wing groups who support the OUT campaign, they are completely marginal to the debate.

In recent weeks, the campaign debates on television and in the headlines of the press have become increasingly antagonistic and xenophobic. Although overtly racist language tends to be shunned by the public, it is ever present under the surface. Complaints about scarce resources that are supposedly already stretched to the breaking point act as a rallying point for the right. The left wing OUT campaign presents the EU as a European super-state imposing its neo-liberal economic agenda on the people of Europe, and where national sovereignty is being eradicated by EU diktats. For Brexit campaigners, regaining "control of our country" requires the jettisoning of EU membership. And this, by definition, entails restricting inward bound migration and the migrant worker rights that the EU guarantees.

Sharp political polarization is developing in many European states. In the Austrian presidential election held on May 22, the former Green party leader Dr. Van der Bellen stood as an independent and only won the election by a wafer-thin majority. Many voted for him to defeat Norbert Hofer, the candidate of the far right representing the Freedom Party. The presidential debates revolved around border controls and migration -- with Van der Bellen advocating open borders and a united Europe, and Hofer supporting tighter borders to put "Austria first."

A nationalist and anti-migration backlash has also developed in France and Germany and this process is being repeated all over Europe. For now, it is right-wing political forces that are the main beneficiaries of the migration crisis and of Europe's on-going economic problems. However, in some European countries, left-wing forces have also galvanised popular anger against capitalist austerity. In recent weeks, France has witnessed ferocious street battles between workers and the police. The workers are fighting against changes to the labour law that undermine their working conditions. They are involved in militant strikes and street protests led by the communist-led trade union, the CGT.

It is true that Europe is dominated by the interests of German capitalism and that the EU is in a very deep crisis. Other issues of bureaucracy and the lack of accountability are also valid concerns. As things stand, even if Britain votes to remain in the EU, the Union will remain in a fragile state and is at risk of disintegration.

The core issue is the need to formulate a new vision of the future for Europe, one that is designed to assimilate mass migration flows and that invests in continental and global projects designed to meet social needs. A hundred years ago, millions of European workers slaughtered each other in the trenches of the First World War. Out of this war came the Russian Revolution and the call for a Socialist United States of Europe. If the socialist and communist parties find the means to articulate the demands and aspirations of the workers of Europe they could create a pan-European constituent assembly to supplant the existing European Union.

Heiko Khoo is a columnist with China.org.cn.

For more information please visit: http://china.org.cn/opinion/heikokhoo.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

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