The unending impasse over Brexit has thrown Britain’s Conservative Party as well as Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party into turmoil. Both have suffered declines in the polls, and the far right led by Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party is taking full advantage, leading it to victory in the European elections and to the top of opinion polls.

Corbyn’s program of redistribution, reversing privatization, boosting public education, and improving public services remains wildly popular. And for a while, promoting this class-based platform against the backdrop of Theresa May’s disastrous handling of Brexit negotiations was a boon for Labour. But the European elections, and the impending possibility of a no-deal Brexit, has put the European Union at the center of British politics. This throws up challenges for a Labour Party whose base is still divided between Leave and Remain. Here, Jacobin contributor Ashley Smith speaks to Salvage editor Richard Seymour about this volatile situation, how the far right stands to benefit from the breakdown of the Tories, and what the Left can do about it.