Wednesday 2 December 2015

De-select the Labour war-mongers

A kinder politics was never going to be enough to reverse a generation of Blairism. Unless Corbyn was willing to do battle with those that have hi-jacked Labour I always thought that Corby-mania could be a bubble. I just didn't expect it to burst quite so quickly. But today's 'free vote' on Syria is probably going to do just that.

I am struggling to think of any scenario when parties can legitimately say 'we have no position on this issue vote how you like' . Because that is what a free vote means. Traditional matter of conscience like capital punishment or abortion perhaps ? But surely these are political issues for society not just quirks of personal preference. And taking the country to war by beginning with air strikes against a civilian population is about as political as it gets.

A majority of Labour members and supporters opposes these air strikes. The Labour leadership opposes these air strikes. And yet the Blairites are being allowed to vote against this without incurring the wrath of their whips and damaging their careers. It is argued that a movement of Labour rebels voting with the government would open up a chasm and damage the party. But that chasm is there and it has been evident ever since Corbyn took over. 

De-selection of these MPs who vote for war needs to start now.

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