Blair Survives Iraq-nam War Inquiry Vote in Commons

Thanks to the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru (the Welsh Nationalists), the House of Commons debated whether this was the time to hold an inquiry into the war in Iraq-nam. For three years, New Labour has managed to keep the House from even discussing how the government took the country into a war that has never enjoyed majority support. The Tories, who backed the war and who therefore are as guilty as Labour, decided to vote against the government on this question, so there was a chance of a defeat for Prime Minister Blair. Even with 12 Labour MPs in rebellion, the government carried the day 298 to 273, but a victory worthy of Pyrrhus.

The Celtic parties have few members in the House, but they are entitled to time on the House calendar as part of Opposition Days. They made the most of it. Plaid Cymru’s Adam Price said, “The issue at its heart is far bigger than party politics – it’s about accountability, it’s about the monumental catastrophe of the Iraq war -- the worst foreign policy disaster certainly since Suez, possibly since Munich and it’s about the morass in which we regrettably still find ourselves.” When Labour claimed it was not the right time to hold such an inquiry while British troops were in the field, the SNP’s Alex Salmond pointed out that two inquiries dealing with the run-up to the war, the Butler Review and Hutton Inquiry, had occurred during the war.

Naturally, since Labour couldn’t win the argument on its merits (after all, the House is entitled to ask questions), Adam Ingram, the Armed Forces Minister, attacked the nationalists, who seek to “undermine” the United Kingdom – and he’s right. That’s what the SNP means when it calls for independence for Scotland, something most Scots now say they want. And the Welsh nationalists have a similar, if less ambitious agenda. So what? Scots and Welsh kids are dying in Iraq-nam just like the English kids.

Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, laid on the “support the troops” line thickly. She said, “What happens in this House today will be heard and not only by those in Iraq, the people and the government, but also will be heard by those whose intention it is to do us harm, whether it be in Iraq or beyond. I ask the House whether it is the time to send a signal which many will undoubtedly, and every Member in this House knows this in their heart to be true, interpret as a signal which is a weakening of our commitment.”

The Tories’ shadow foreign secretary and former leader William Hague noted the scent of bovine excrement coming from the Right Honourable Ms. Beckett. He said, “The British Army is both tougher and more thoughtful than that and its operations should not be used as an excuse to avoid examining any of our political processes and judgments.” Apparently, supporting the troops isn’t best done by leaving them in the line of fire and ignoring the fact that the mission has failed. By the way, news came that some staff members of the British Consulate in Basra have been evacuated because it isn’t safe just as the debate got started.

Mr. Blair’s majority is down to 25 on the war in Iraq-nam, and it is hard to see it improving. His departure from Number 10 Downing Street has been in the cards for months, and the sooner the better for Labour. Eventually, another dozen MPs will join yesterday’s rebels, and that will be it for Mr. Blair. The rebels are the only members of New Labour’s Parliamentary Party who understand that the House must keep watch over the cabinet, and they are heroes. The rest of the party should be ashamed of itself. The honor roll reads: Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead), Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North), Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central), Roger Godsiff (Birmingham Sparkbrook & Small Heath), Glenda Jackson (Hampstead & Highgate), John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington), Robert Marshall-Andrews (Medway), Alan Simpson (Nottingham South), Sir Peter Soulsby (Leicester South), Dr. Gavin Strang (Edinburgh East), Robert Wareing (Liverpool West Derby), and Mike Wood (Batley & Spen).

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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