Labour's NEC Election Results Demonstrate We Can Win

The election of my old friend Walter Wolfgang to Labour's National Executive Committee demonstrates the large majority that there is within the Labour Party's rank and file for candidates not just of the Left but also those that are opposed to war and opposed to nuclear weapons.

There are thousands of party members who are willing to use their votes in party elections to voice their concerns about the way in which Tony Blair has implicated a Labour Government in George Bush's military adventures in the Middle East.

I will be speaking at the Stop the War demonstration on Saturday calling for an immediate ceasefire in both the Lebanon and Gaza but also damanding that Tony Blair be recalled to Parliament to be held accountable for his failure to work with others to secure peace in Lebanon. I hold Tony Blair to account for the tragic loss of life in both Lebanon and Palestine. His failure to seek an immediate ceasefire and to support the Bush strategy has contributed to the significant loss of civilian lives and is unforgiveable. The failure of cabinet members to publicly demand a change of policy is equally a failure of nerve.

Saturday's demonstration will give voice to the anger at the failure of the British Government and will also allow the voice of the majorirty to heard.

Recall Parliament on Lebanon

The military invasion of Lebanon by Israel and the escalation in the number of Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israel is a sure indication that far from being a limited and short lived enagagement the fighting in Lebanon is deteriorating into a full scale war. Unless some resolution is found shortly there must be a real risk of other states being drawn into the conflict.

The Bush/Blair strategy of allowing the Israelis a period of grace of 10 days in which they could destroy Hezbollah has not only failed but is proving to be counter-productive in that support for Hezbollah appears to be hardening both in Lebanon and on the Arab street.

The Prime Minister's latest speech in the US offers nothing new by way of analysis or strategy. In fact it is a patently obvious rehash of earlier speeches, slightly more messianic but desperately spun out to make it appear that some new approach is being developed.

My main fear is that every day this present fighting goes on there will be more atrocities perpetrated by either side, which will make it all the more difficult in the long run to secure a lasting peace in the region and prevent an inevitable increase in terrorist activity around the globe.

Scilla Elsworthy, founder of the world famous Oxford Research Group and Peace Direct, and Gabrielle Rifkind, founder of the Middle Esat Policy Initiative Forum, describe very concretely in their excellent book "Making Terrorism History" how "violent conflict is prolonged through cycles of trauma and retaliation, but also how armed intervention designed to end conflict can often have the effect of stimulating more violence."

The Bush/Blair strategy is failing before our eyes at such a dreadful cost in terms of loss of life and human suffering. The latest total of lives lost is nearly 700, with nearly 1 million refugees displaced in the Lebanon. We need to have an urgent and open debate on what we as a country can do to bring a swift end to the current escalating conflict and what role we can play with others to help prevent future aggression. One step in starting this critical debate would be the recall of Parliament. I called for the recall of Parliament last Sunday. Other MPs have now joined that call. What is the Prime Minister's fear of having a Parliamentary debate?

We hear that a debate went on in Cabinet and a number of Cabinet Ministers have let it leak out that they questioned the Prime Minister's strategy. I have to say Cabinet Ministers trying to salve their consciences in this cowardly and pathetic way is almost as disgraceful as Tony Blair supporting the Bush strategy. If Cabinet Ministers had spoken out in public in opposing Tony Blair's support for the Bush line or had even done the honourable thing and resigned in order to speak out on this issue, I would have had some respect for them. To hide behind leaks and off the record briefings is degrading. If those in Cabinet who were concerned about the Bush/Blar strategy had acted decisively together there may have been the opportunity of securing a break with Bush and Britain joining with others in calling for an immediate ceasefire. Their failure to act implicates them in this failure to demand and secure peace and end the killing in Lebanon, Gaza and Israel.

Recalling Parliament would give every Member of Parliament the opportunity to speak and vote on the basis of their conscience. If Parliament is recalled, I would wish to see the opportunity given to MPs to vote on a motion to determine Britain's independent strategy and for this vote to be unwhipped.

Halt the Use of Britain as Transit Station for US Weapons for Israel

Despite the revulsion and outrage felt at the Israeli attack on Qana and the tragic loss of children's lives, the British Government is still allowing British airfields to be used as transit stations for weapons being transported by the US to Israel. The Observer newspaper identified the Israeli accumulation and possible use of cluster bombs, bunker busters and depleted uranium tipped warheads.

The use of these weapons in civilian areas as witnessed in Lebanon is contary to international law. And yet the Prime Minister continues to allow George Bush to use our airstrips to resupply the Israeli military.

In a cat and mouse game in the face of protests today Des Brown, the Secretary of State for Defence, has switched the US airplane landings from Prestwick to England.

I fully support those protesting against the use of our country by the US as a base for arming the Israelis with such devastating weapons which are resulting in such heavy and terrible civilian casualties.

I go further and express my support for any workers engaged in the operation of these airports or our airspace who refuse on grounds of conscience and international law to participate in supporting the shipment of these weapons. In the light of all the evidence in recent days demonstrating the use to which the Israelis are putting these weapons I believe that workers have every right to refuse to facilitate the transportation of these weapons.

Innocents are Dying but still Bush and Blair Refuse to Call for an Immediate Ceasefire

Like most people I found the pictures from Qana of more innocent lives being lost through indiscriminate bombing by the Israelis distressing in the extreme. In the Observer this morning it is also revealed that the Israelis are using in civilian areas cluster bombs, which are designed to kill and maim in such an indiscriminate way. In addition it is reported that the US has delivered at least 100 "bunker buster" bombs containing depleted uranium warheads.

In the face of such immense suffering on all sides it is incomprehensible why the Prime Minister has determinedly followed George Bush in refusing to call for an immediate ceasefire. This refusal is being interpreted rightly or wrongly as part of a joint US/UK strategy of allowing Israel sufficient time to invade south Lebanon, wipe out Hezbollah and extend its border to annex a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon. If this is the case I believe that this cynical strategy will not only fail but will also prove to be counter productive in the long term by breeding further hatred and future terrorist activity.

What is needed is for the US and UK to join up with the rest of the world calling for an immediate ceasefire. Israel will not be able to withstand pressure from its major backer and arms supplier, the US. This will also enable the creation of a united front with the Arab world in pressurising Hezbollah to enter into serious peace negotiatons, including the exchange of prisoners.

Many have been angered to discover that Britain has been used as the transit station for US weapons being transported to Israel for use in Lebanon. Now that we know not only the type of weapons being used but also how these weapons are being used in an indiscriminate way against civilans, the Prime Minister must now refuse the Bush regime the right to transport these weapons through our country and airspace. If the Prime Minister refuses I believe that any workers associated with this transport activity have every right to refuse to assist in transporting these weapons on the grounds that they are being used in a way which is contary to international law.

If a ceasefire is not achieved within the next 48 hours I am calling for the recall of Parliament so that Parliament can itself be given the opportunity of calling for an immediate ceasefire on behalf of the British people and debating an alternative strategy to the failed Bush/Blair approach.

Many now also believe that at a time of world crisis like this the spectacle of a British Prime Minister taking time out to pander to the whims of Rupert Murdoch by virtually playing the role of an after dinner speaker at a Murdoch staff conference will be interpreted by some as demeaning the office of British Prime Minister.