Stephanie,I think every MP who voted for the Iraq war made a serious error of judgement (and Ann knows that's what I think, by the way), although I also believe that they were misled on the issue and that none of them had any inkling of what the resultant loss of life might be.I take the view that we would have gone to war whoever had been in power. That certainly doesn't justify it, but what it does do is concentrate the mind on those other policy areas where there are actually differences between the various parties and candidates.If you examine the way that Ann Keen bravely piloted through the House of Commons legislation to give greater equality to gay people (something she received a considerable amount of hate mail for and was, I believe, stalked and assaulted on her own doorstep over); the long hours and many late nights she spent on the committee that introduced the National Minimum Wage (something that both you and I have benefitted from); the campaigning work she has done for Make Poverty History; her work on the problem of childbirth fatalities in Africa; the way she perservered to help ensure the first ever Domestic Violence Bill was passed through Parliament (a big issue for me, btw, as it was rife in the family in which I grew up); and the work she has done in her capacity as Health Minister for Cancer Services to improve access to NHS services (e.g. the cancer guarantee and free prescriptions for all cancer-related drugs); plus, most of all, her long-term record of active opposition to racism and the far right (she took the Chair of the BBC Trust to task over Nick Griffin's appearance on Question Time and also had a go at the General Secretary of the Labour Party for rescinding the party's "No Platform Policy") - on these various issues, she has a far more progressive record than any Tory MP would be likely to have.But yes, Iraq was a terrible thing (in my view it was an act of colonial aggression) and it simply cannot be overlooked. However, neither can it be undone.And this is where I come to the latest rant from Phil Andrews. I'm afraid I really don't buy his stance on the Iraq issue: for three years, he quite happily sat on the council's executive with a group of very right wing Tory politicians, most of whom I suspect were strong supporters of the Iraq war. I somehow doubt that he took any of them to task on the issue. He has also, of course, publicly sung the praises of the fascistic AMJA, who not only supported the war but who even found it necessary to write to the local paper a few years ago applauding the dropping of bombs on Hiroshima. (AMJA did, additionally, do quite a lot of canvassing against Ann Keen specifically over her support for gay equality).I have no idea who Phil is talking about when he says that I claim to be good friends with a certain Hounslow Councillor: I've never claimed anything of the sort. There are a small number of LBH councillors who I am vaguely acquainted with, and this fact reflects my very peripheral involvement in Hounslow politics. Unfortunately, Phil simply cannot except that fact, and chooses to believe that I am behind every single local Labour Party activity.
Robin Taylor ● 5894d