Friday 16 September 2016

Truth Tellers

Including the two tellers, only 15 MPs opposed the intervention in Libya.

But three of those were Jeremy Corbyn, Barry Gardiner and John McDonnell.

Another was Ronnie Campbell, who is now taking a few months in which he will come into the House only if there is a crucial knife-edge vote, while he undergoes surgery and chemotherapy for stomach cancer. He is a very good man.

And another again was Mike Wood, who retired last year from his seat of Batley and Spen. The next MP for that seat also needs to be deeply sound.

In opposing every military intervention of the last 20 years, Corbyn and McDonnell have been right when the Lib Dems have been wrong on all but one occasion, when the Conservative front bench and almost all Conservative MPs have been wrong on every occasion, when the Labour front bench has been wrong on every occasion prior to Corbyn's election as Leader, and when a third of Labour MPs have been wrong even after that.

Such wars have now been waged by all three parties, but they have always been opposed by Jeremy Corbyn and by John McDonnell.

Likewise, in opposing from the outset what is now the abandoned austerity programme of the sacked George Osborne, Corbyn and McDonnell have been five years ahead of the Lib Dems, five and a half years ahead of the Labour front bench, and six years ahead of the Conservatives.

They remain ahead of the 172 Labour MPs who laughably remain committed to that austerity programme even now, after its abandonment by the Conservative Government.

No comments:

Post a Comment