The BBC website reports... "Downing Street has warned of "very real consequences" for British troops in Iraq if MPs defeat the government over calls for an inquiry into the war." Get real. I'm sure most of them would welcome an Inquiry into just how they were put in this position in the first place.
political commentator * author * publisher * bookseller * radio presenter * blogger * Conservative candidate * former lobbyist * Jack Russell owner * West Ham United fanatic * Email iain AT iaindale DOT com
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Labour Whips Hit the Panic Button
Word on the street is that the Labour whips' office is in meltdown and they have recalled all Ministers to London for the vote this evening. Is Prescott back from his Asian jolly trip?
The BBC website reports... "Downing Street has warned of "very real consequences" for British troops in Iraq if MPs defeat the government over calls for an inquiry into the war." Get real. I'm sure most of them would welcome an Inquiry into just how they were put in this position in the first place.
The BBC website reports... "Downing Street has warned of "very real consequences" for British troops in Iraq if MPs defeat the government over calls for an inquiry into the war." Get real. I'm sure most of them would welcome an Inquiry into just how they were put in this position in the first place.
"The BBC website reports... "Downing Street has warned of "very real consequences" for British troops in Iraq if MPs defeat the government over calls for an inquiry into the war."
ReplyDelete***BBC Scare tactics, it's almost as if they are in Labours pocket....
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ReplyDeleteMiaow, maiow, mioaw
For Labour MPs, it is increasingly becoming, not just an issue of loyalty but increasingly a matter of survival, as Judgment Day is now coming closer
Cruella de Blair & her husband are now Electoral Liabilities who are going to cause many marginal Labour MPs to lose their seats at the next Election
Labour MPs most likely to lose must include :
1. Bob Laxton (Derby North)
2. Mark Todd (South Derbyshire) - he can no longer look to the lovely Edwina Currie, to help his election prospects
It's all very well, being hard working Labour MPs, loyally voting for Swiss Tony's Government
but both these Young Men must realize that they are likely to lose their seats at the next Election
And this will become ever more likely, the longer Cruella de Blair's husband insists on staying on as Prime Minister
It may be immensely satisfying to Swiss Tony that he is increasing his Pension entitlement while spoiling Gordon's chances of ever making it to No 10
However, Mark & Bob would be well-advised to be making alternative career plans
G a Chat
I think that there will only be around 15 Labour rebels, so the Government should prevail relatively comfortably.
ReplyDeleteHas 'think of the children' been replaced with 'think of the troops' as a catch defence?
ReplyDeleteEngage brain Iain. If Bin Laden was an MP(not impossible if multiculturalism continues its march), which way would he vote. So maybe Salmon and Dave silly supporters could answer why they are advancing Al Qaeda policy objectives?
ReplyDelete"very real consequences" for British troops in Iraq if MPs defeat the government over calls for an inquiry into the war."
ReplyDeleteCouldn't care less about the British Army, but the only 'very real consequences' I could see for them is that they get to come home rather than contining to engage in a pointless and bloody occupation of Iraq, or at the very least that they get to know why they are there in the first place.
Is the British Government afraid of the truth emerging? Don't the people of Iraq have a right to know whay the US and UK are there?
Prescott, Asian Jelly trip, please no more info!
ReplyDeleteWould this very real consequences for our troops be like having the wrong equipment supplied by our government ? Or perhaps moving the civilian staff out of the consulate in Basra ?
ReplyDeleteSalmond and the SNP have the right idea - first an inquiry, then the impeachment. Or perhaps the war crimes trial of the dear leader latter on.
Its all just kicking off now - lets see how they do.
I speak as someone whose little brother has done two 6 month tours of Iraq and faced extremely dangerous and hairy situations. They cannot speak so I will try to say a few words for them.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who drives a car is hypocritical in their criticism of the Iraq war. When all is said and done, it comes down to oil. Ok, Blair may have told a few porkies for the reasons to invade Iraq. But if Saddam had been allowed to continue to dominate the political scene in the Middle East, the oil supply (and price) would have continued to dominate the political situation there and further afield.
At its peak, 50,000 British troops were in Iraq - now there are only about 4 to 5,000. Practically speaking, we have all but almost withdrawn. All deaths and injuries out there are a huge tragedy but in terms of a military campaign, the casualty rate has not been that high considering how many troops have been involved and for so long.
I wish that all those who continue to criticise the war in Iraq would Shut Up! and if they want to speak with actions rather than words, give up their car and do something practical. This is the only long term solution to our dependence on the Middle East.
The British and American military are so interwoven that it would have been silly if we had left the Americans to fight this campaign by themselves. Anyone who belives that we should have done is living in cloud cuckoo land.
As someone whose nephew has done two tours of duty in Iraq I take a very different view to Achilles. We have taken a disastrous situation and turned it into a catastrophe for the people of Iraq. The growth of sectarianism and the gradual erosion of the position of women in Iraqi society, the trashing of the country's infrastructure and the eventual dismemberment of the country are our sad legacy. The sooner we manage our exit, the better.
ReplyDeleteWhere I agree with Achilles that the driver was oil supplies. Unfortunately our invasion, far from making these more certain, has set in motion such forces of destabilization in the form of increased islamic activitism that it was a classic case of foot shooting. Our Suez, our Iraq and -- god help us, our Afghanistan. Those who forget history are doomed, not only to repeat it, but to reap the consequences for decades thereafter. As a democratic society, we need to understand why this happened, and to hold to account those responsible: starting with Tony Blair.
I wonder what "somewhat real" consequences would look like?
ReplyDeleteSamuel Johnson was right. Patriotism really is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
ReplyDeleteVlad the impala said 'The sooner we manage our exit, the better. ' And if we don't the senior commanders of British forces in Iraq and in Afghanistan could not have been clearer in telling us what might happen; if they speak publicly like this, then how have they spoken privately to our prime minister in their attempts to rouse him from his crazed denial and determination to defend his wif'e London town house and son' s freeby in Yale etc. etc. and his own perverted self esteem to the point of hubris? We may withdraw in good order and try to undo the terrible damage that has been done on so many fronts, or we can be driven out, as we have been reportedly from Basra, with "hand-picked by Tony Blair" Foreign Office staff being helicoptered out of the Consulate as it can no longer be defended (shades of Saigon in 1973).
ReplyDeleteBlair now tries to finger Parliament itself as the culprit of his utter folly, as Parliament at last tries to bring him under control.
This is the bottom line:
ReplyDeleteBliar's temporary political survival is more important than the lives of British troops.
A majority of 25 is hardly a ringing endorsement. On March 19 2003, 412 MPs voted for war - 73% of those voting. This evening, 298 MPs supported the government on Iraq - 52% of those voting. If 13 MPs had followed their consciences rather than the directions of the whips or political expediency, an end to the Iraq quagmire may well have been closer tonight.
Browne's comment that there will eventually be an inquiry rings true. The best way for Gordon Brown to muzzle Bliar (and prevent sniping from the side-lines) is to have such an inquiry, which will shatter whatever remains of Bliar's "legacy".
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ReplyDeleteIan Not Dale "... If 13 MPs had followed their consciences rather than the directions of the whips or political expediency ..."
.... Miaow, maiow, mioaw
Mr Blair has again survived, Cruella is still at the Heart of this Government, the multiple-[word deleted] Jabba el Hut continues his high-salaried/perquisited committee meetings ....
but the 13 MPs should understand that it is at great risk to their personal survival at the next Election
Judgment may be delayed ... but it is not that far away
G a Chat
Iain once again showing he is the Russell Grant of British Politics.
ReplyDeleteThere was no meltdown and the government won with a comfortable majority. With Tory abstentions too!
http://dailywarnews.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI think every MP should read trough this blog on a dialy basis to see what their actions have casued.