What's left in Labour?
Jim Jepps
Steve Bell at the Stop the War conference said that "Labour is not just the
biggest pro-war party in Parliament, it is also the biggest anti-war party."
Shouldn't we whole heartedly support all the labour MPs who voted against the
iraqi adventure?
Well, first of all is the election simply a referendum on Iraq? When we see
Blair's grinning face the day after, as we surely will, it will not reflect the
massive opposition to the war. Combine this with the voting record of many of
the Labour 'rebels'.
There are probably forty Labour MPs with good voting records but the rest
continued to vote for top up fees, foundation hospitals, control orders - whilst
its impossible to tell the motivations of many of those who voted against the
war it's clear the massive anti-war movement and mood at the grass roots of
Labour put the fear of Allah into otherwise spineless careerists.
Can we distinguish between a vote for a Labour MP who voted against the war and
a vote for the pro-war Labour government? It would be sound advise to take into
account an MPs overall record, consider the prospects carefully and where
necessary vote Labour.
April 2005
