Call for Inquiry into Use of UK as Transit Station for US Weapons to Israel

The revelation that an airport in the UK, (Prestwick in Scotland), has been used as a transit station for the transportation of US weapons to Israel has come as ashock to many MPs and commentators. The fact that senior ministers in both the British Government and the Scottish Government have stated that they were unaware of this arrangement begs a number of questions.

First, how long has this practice been going on?

Second, if the Foreign Secretary was unaware of this arrangement, was the Prime Minister, any of his staff, the British Intelligence Services or the Secretary of State for Defence aware that this was happening?

Third, who in the British Government authorised this practice?

Fourth, what assessment was undertaken of the risk to UK interests and indeed the safety of our citizens of allowing the UK to be used in this way?

This incident destroys any last vestige of Tony Blair's claims about the neutrality of his stance between the differing parties in the Middle East. The use of UK soil as an airstrip for the US' role in arming Israel will confirm on the Arab street whose side Tony Blair is really on. More enemies will have been made by this incident and it will serve to confirm yet again in many eyes the subservient relationship between the Blair administration and the Bush regime.

I am calling for a full inquiry into how the US can use our airports to transport weapons to a foreign country in conflict and who in government has given the political go ahead for such an arrangement.

Desperate News from the Failure Of World Trade Talks

It is desperate news that the world trade talks have floundered on the US refusal to agree to reduce trade barriers. Despite all the hopes that at last the World Trade Organisation was beginning to recognise the impact on the developing world of trade injustices, the Bush administration destroyed any hope of an effective deal by insisting on maintaining its protectionist policies.

There is a savage irony in all this. Here we have the Bush regime, the greatest advocate of free market, neo-liberal economics, demanding that its transnational companies be protected from competition from the developing world but at the same time calling upon developing countries to open up their economies to rabid exploitation and product dumping by the US.

The present WTO talks round is the best object lesson one could have in how the WTO and Gatt system was designed to promote the neo liberal agenda of forcing trade deals on the developing world to make it easier for US transnationals to dominate the economies of developing countries. When the developing world and its allies demand a mild redressing of this balance, the US refuses to play ball. Whilst in the eyes of the supporters of the "Washington Consensus" the unhindered operation of the free market is good enough for the developing world it is not acceptable if US profits are at risk and the protectionism is called for. These recent talks expose this hypocracy. Noam Chomsky's book "Profit over People-Neoliberalism and Global Order" provides a hard hitting expose of the role of the WTO and other global institutions in the promotion of free market philosophy.

The Bush/Blair Alliance

The first day of the Rome talks to secure peace in Lebanon has demonstrated yet again the role played in international diplomacy by the Bush/Blair alliance. The majority of the countries engaged in the talks and those outside the Rome forum have called for an immediate ceasefire and truce to save lives and avoid further human suffering. Only Bush and Tony Blair have refused to call for an immediate truce. It is accepted in diplomatic circles that of course where Bush leads Tony Blair automatically follows but it is not acceptable in the eyes of a majority of people in this country. This week's latest poll demonstrates that a majority believe Blair is too close to Bush.

The Bush strategy has been to refuse to intervene in order to give the Israelis sufficient time to invade Southern Lebanon. This cynical manouevre has been disgracefully supported by Tony Blair. The result is the scenes of heartrending suffering as civilians are killed, wounded and rendered homeless by Israeli bombs and Hezbollah missiles. The killing of UN peacekeepers by the Israelis is an appalling crime against the civilised world. Given the Israeli use of precision missiles in this attack and the numerous appeals by the UN prior to the assault it is difficult to believe that this was an accident as the Israelis now claim.

The world will not forget or forgive the role played by George Bush and Tony Blair at this time. When there was a desperate need for the rest of the world to stand together to secure an immediate peace to save lives they not only failed but connived to allow Israel to prosecute a savage invasion of Lebanon.

We must all now do all we can to press our Government to act and call for an immediate ceasefire. If Tony Blair will not make this call the British people will have to do it together themselves, using every form of media available to us, particularly by using the internet to get our message across.

Prescott's Hints at Early Leadership Change

On Sunday most of us almost fell off our chairs listening to John Prescott give the impression that Tony Blair would be leaving office sooner than later. Most commentators and MPs, including me, have been predicting an announcement from the Prime Minister in about May or June of next year with the 2007 conference as another possibility.

I have been working on the basis of having the opportunity of about a year long campaign to get our message across and recruit people back into the Labour party to enable them to qualify to vote in the leadership election for a new direction for the party.

I will still be surprised if Tony Blair announces early but we have to prepare for that possibility by urging as many people as possible to join the party and soon. The qualifying period of membership to vote in the leadership is 6 months. So if you are not a member of the party now, join quickly.

The critical element of the leadership election is the political debate to be had on the future direction of the party in government. That is why in September we will be hitting the ground running with meetings around the country region by region, at the TUC and in the run up to Labour party conference.

If you feel you can help in organising meetings in your area please contact our campaign. This is a grass roots campaign relying upon the voluntary assistance of Labour party members, trade unionists and supporters. If you can help in any way, no matter how small, please link up with us.

Civil Service Fair Pay Petition

I presented to Parliament tonight (Monday) a petiton signed by 50,000 civil servants demanding fair pay across the civil service. Civil servants from virtually all government departments had signed the petition amidst a growing anger that the Government is just not taking low pay and unfairness in the civil service seriously.

In addition to the ongoing scandal of low pay in many departments and agencies, civil servants are facing real inequalities in pay rates with many working alongside colleagues doing the same job but on widely different pay rates.

This unfairness has been introduced into the system by the Government's policy of allowing over 200 different departments, agencies and other public bodies to set their own pay rates.

The PCS trade union is demanding an end to this vast array of pay negotiations and for the Government to re-introduce national pay bargaining. This would establish common standards and minimum requirements on pay and conditions across the civil service.

I fully support the PCS demands. National pay bargaining would overcome this chaotic negotiating maze set up by the Government and would allow us to concentrate on eradicating low pay.

This was the largest petition in the history of the civil service. Coming on top of Gordon Brown's unilateral announcements of 100,000 job cuts and a three year pay freeze the Government shouldn't underestimate the strength of feeling amongst its own workforce on this issue.

LRC Conference and Socialist Youth

The Labour Representation Committee's conference on Saturday was attended by over 400 delegates from Constituency Labour Parties, trade unions and progressive organisations. The conference unanimously endorsed my candidature for the leadership of the Labour Party and addressed the policy programme upon which any challenge should be based.

The conference agreed that the LRC should ensure that people have a clear choice in determining the future of Labour and the future of the country.

The choice should include:

between promoting public services or continued privatisation.

between free education or trust schools and tuition fees.

between increasing the state pension and restoring the link with earnings or forcing more people onto the means test.

between allowing councils to build council houses once again or high rents, escalating housing costs, homelessness and overcrowding.

between energy from green power sources, conservation, and British clean coal or the costs and risks of nuclear power.

between promoting civil liberties and trade union rights or reactionary incursions into the right of free speech, assembly and trial.

between a government committed to peace, withdrawal from Iraq and nuclear disarmamentor backing Bush's wars and wasting £24 billion on Trident.

The conference debate on these issues demonstrated a real depth of support for a clearcut Left programme. There were many insightful speeches based upon delegates' front line experiences of the Government's current policies.

For the first time in years there were a large number of young people at the conference. For me the most moving speech of the conference came from Mary Partington, a student, who said "People of my generation voted for the first time in last year's general election. We had the choice of warmongering, cuts and privatisation, or on the other hand, warmongering, cuts and privatisation. But when I hear a potential leader talk about socialism I'm excited. I fully support John McDonnell in his leadership campaign. I wasn't lucky enough to be around in the 1970s and I've been waiting all my life for this."

A large meeting of young people from the conference met this evening at the House of Commons and established an LRC Socialist Youth group committed to organising and campaigning amongst young people. They came across as really dedicated, enthusisatic and superbly creative and astute about the methods we can use to get our message across in this campaign and also how we can engage young people in this political dialogue.

This is the new generation emerging, politically aware and determined. The aim is to stimulate a wide ranging debate on the issues facing young people and create a young person's manifesto for the campaign. Anyone interested in participating in this initiative should contact us via this website or the LRC's website.