According to the Sunday Times, two British service men were
sent home from the Middle East after refusing to fight in the war against Iraq.
The two face a court martial and up to two years in jail for disobeying orders.
The dramatic resignation of
Robin Cook, until yesterday the Leader of the House of Commons was a
devastating blow to Blair and represents another nail in the coffin of Blairism.
The prospect of war has shaken British politics to its foundations. There is no going back for Blair now.
Sooner or later his days as Labour leader are numbered.
Tony Blair’s drive towards war with Iraq is producing convulsions
throughout the Labour movement. With the threatened resignation or sacking,
which ever comes first, of Cabinet Minister Clare Short, after her attack on
Blair’s policy on Iraq as “reckless”, the whole edifice of New Labour is
threatening to come crashing down.
Without doubt, things are coming to ahead at home and
abroad for Tony Blair’s government. The unprecedented Parliamentary revolt, in
which 121 Labour MPs defied the Labour leadership to vote against war, was the
biggest ever against any government. This bombshell reflects the groundswell of
opposition within the party and the country.
Labour Councils are being forced to choose between cuts in services or
increases in the Council Tax. But the resources are there. Proof of that is
the huge amount that has been set aside for the war against Iraq. In
Southampton we have the courageous stand of Labour Councillor Perry McMillan who
has refused to vote the increase in the Council Tax. Steve Jones explains what
has been happening.