The UK and the World Needs Labour MPs to Defy the Party Leadership on IS

I’ve given up writing about the Labour Party. For the time being, and quite possibly forever, it has ceased to be a serious vehicle for the achievement of greater freedom and equality. Every time I’ve thought about posting something, I’ve been halted by the overwhelming sentiment of ‘why bother’.

I’ve made an exception today. While on most issues Labour is now irrelevant , it remains a potentially disruptive force for the UK’s development of a meaningful and ethical response to the threat from IS.

After the Paris atrocities, it is becoming increasingly clear that the world must significantly expand its efforts to defeat IS. It can no longer be claimed that Daesh is a murderous threat only to Iraq and Syria. The organisation’s capacity to bring mass slaughter to European streets is now undeniable.

It is also becoming clear that IS is driven by a vision that aims to establish a ‘caliphate’ quite possibly way beyond the territory it currently holds. These imperialist genocidal ambitions are reason enough to crush IS but the idea that the apocalyptic lunacy of Daesh might get anywhere near nuclear states such as Pakistan or Israel should give us all sleepless nights.

It is vital, therefore, that the UK does all it can to support the fight against al-Baghdadi’s evil army. The notion that we can sit out a fight against such a threat should be unthinkable. Removing or limiting the involvement of UK forces not only reduces the chances of a complete defeat of this Islamist fascism but also diminishes us ethically as we sit back and let our allies take the mortal risk on our behalf.

The Conservative Government understands these points but with only a small majority in the House of Commons there is a chance that the foreign policy fantasists, who currently run Labour and the SNP, could tie the British army’s hands. This may well prevent the extension of RAF bombing raids against IS in Syria and could easily extend into striking down further tough decisions that will need to be taken as the battle against al-Baghdadi unfolds.

The fact that Labour’s centrist Shadow Foreign Secretary, Hilary Benn, seemed this morning to harden the stance against extending air support into Syria suggests that the likes of Corbyn and Seumas Milne are gaining a firmer grip on the Party’s policy.

Labour for Freedom Overseas

There is currently a great deal of plotting and planning underway in Labour. New groups and initiatives are springing up to either expand or limit the role of the newly enthroned satraps of the hard left.

However, there is one piece of internal organising that is now far more pressing for the country as a whole rather than the Party alone. This is for those in Labour who take our international defence commitments seriously to join together to ensure that the Party (or enough of it) gives its backing to the world’s efforts to defeat IS.

Such a group’s most important role would be to unite those Labour MPs willing to vote against the Party leadership when the security of the UK and its allies is under threat. But it could also ensure that there was enough support for those MPs amongst members and supporters to protect them from the inevitable attempt at retribution exacted by the myopic ideologues that now populate the Leader’s office.

In short, the time has come for Labour people who believe that IS should be stopped dead in its tracks to act.

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