Labour Party war criminal publishes memoirs

According to Blair:

"I can't regret the decision to go to war... I can say that never did I guess the nightmare that unfolded, and that too is part of the responsibility."

Indeed it is. But many people did predict the nightmare -- myself included. I vividly recall those who said a war in Iraq would unleash a hellish intensity of tribal violence -- like Northern Ireland, but a hundred fold, said one. Blair, who had seen at close quarters the dynamics of sectarianism in Northern Ireland, should have known exactly what to expect.

While those on the left of the Labour Party are now, quite rightly, demonizing Blair for his record on Iraq, we shouldn't forget that he wasn't alone in this policy. For example, who can forget Jack Straw's performances on the Today Programme and elsewhere, day after day, where his weasel words gave political cover to Blair's iniquity. What about the rest of the cabinet, what were they saying at this time?

The Labour Party is stained for a generation. Good riddance.

Still the nasty party?

Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that powers to detain terrorist suspects for up to twenty-eight days without charge will be extended for a further six months. This extension, we are told, is to facilitate a review into the law.

Now, before I criticize that decision, (which I do), it will serve us all well to recall that this horribly illiberal piece of legislation was thrust upon you by a grossly illiberal mob known as the Labour Party, who merrily stripped you and me of various rights while indulging themselves in a very un-British orgy of repressive statism and state control. They wanted -- you might recall -- ninety days detention without charge -- nice!

But what of Theresa May? Why exactly does she need another six months to figure out something many of us have known for years -- that this was one of several police powers too far?

Once upon a time, it was a certain Theresa May who famously branded her own party "the nasty party" and appealed for change. Her remarks heralded a change of image, and a rebranding of the Conservative party. But did anything really change?

Ironically it now falls on May's shoulders to demonstrate just how substantive and meaningful that change has been, and to demonstrate the sincerity of her own words to conference back in 2002. If this measure is still on the books by Christmas, that will tell us a great deal about the true instinct of rebranded Toryism in 2010. And Theresa May will rightly become Theresa disMay.

BP: so much for that special relationship

The way Obama has handled the Gulf oil disaster should serve as a lesson to anyone who still imagines the so-called "special relationship" with America actually counts for something positive for the UK. As far as I can tell, the only thing that's been "special" about the Anglo-American partnership of recent years has been Britain's extraordinary servility -- and it's really got to stop.

Quite rightly Obama felt the heat for his typically nonchalant, half-assed response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. But then, like the slippery customer he is, he wasted no time to find a suitable scapegoat he could push into the firing line, and deflect criticism from himself. BP became British Petroleum, and so began an appallingly spiteful masterclass in xenophobia.

the special relationship

To be clear, the stricken oil rig was built by a Korean company, and owned and run by an American company. When it went belly-up, it was under lease to an American subsidiary of BP. BP, for its part, is almost 40% owned by US investors, and employs more people in the USA than it does in Britain. So it seems the president was playing fast and loose with the facts when he set about stirring up his anti-British lynch mob, who according to the photographs, have been expressing their protest by wiping their feet on the Union flag -- something more reminiscent of Tehran -- how ironic is that?

There's been some criticism of David Cameron suggesting that he hasn't spoken up strongly enough in defence of BP. Personally I don't think it would be particularly helpful for anyone if our prime minister got into a diplomatic slanging match with the US administration. However I think this entire episode, together with much of our recent history, serves to underline the desperate need for a fresh beginning in our foreign policy, and a reappraisal of our relations with Washington. Messrs Cameron, Hague and Fox should be giving us a clear sign of that -- soon.

Diane Abbott for Labour Leader!

I was delighted to hear that Diane Abbott has managed to collect enough nominations to progress to the next stage of the Labour leadership contest. I for one will be campaigning for her, and encourage all Labourites to give her their support!

It's such a mouth-watering prospect to imagine that someone even less electable than Michael Foot could soon be taking charge of the Labour helm. And you know, such an act of collective stupidity is by no means beyond the realms of possibility where these clowns are concerned. I mean... look what they did to the economy.

At the very least, fingers crossed, it looks like we might have seen the last of her on the "This Week" sofa. Imagine that! No more rolling of the eyes ... no more of those rude interruptions, talking over the top of everyone else... no more of that smug self-satisfied smirky smile.... wonderful!

Thank you Diane, and of course: GOOD LUCK!

More Balls

In his forlorn bid for the Labour leadership Mr. Ed Balls has been trying to reconnect with the grass roots of his party. The invasion of Iraq, he's been telling us, was a "mistake"...yep, that's right, a mistake. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought a mistake is like when you forget to buy a pint of milk in the supermarket, or when you miss your train...

The war in Iraq however, I'd call that a murderous act of aggression unleashed on the people of Iraq from hell, courtesy of Mr. George W Bush and his nasty little poodle, Tony Blair.

Why then wasn't Mr. Balls telling us about these "mistakes" before the election?

Why? Well it's because, like most of the rest of the Labour elite, Mr. Balls couldn't really give a damn about the innocents in Iraq his party shamelessly helped to kill.

The war in Iraq was not a mistake -- it was a crime. It was the deliberate work of a greedy Labour leader trying to earn himself some political capital whatever the consequences. In May 2010 it's about Blair's prospective successors trying to do exactly the same. The only difference is, these days the wind is blowing in a different direction.

Why did anyone vote for Labour in the recent election? Beats me.

Ealing Council Elections 2010 -- Labour Win

Four years ago, amid recriminations over the abortive west London tram project, Labour found themselves unceremoniously dumped in Ealing's local council elections. But tonight they have seized back control.

Of the 69 seats in 23 wards, the result was:

Labour 40
Conservatives 24
Lib Dems 5

If this was a response to the Tories cavalier attitude to town planning, (Arcadia and Dickens Yard), then frankly, they too probably deserved a lesson in humility. It remains to be seen however, if Labour will have the same success in keeping down the council tax.

For details of the general election result in Ealing click here.

Election 2010 -- Ealing Results

If I get a moment I'll put up a detailed table of results, but the main news from Ealing is that Ealing Central and Acton has turned blue. Notionally this new seat was very marginal, and as of last night it wasn't altogether clear which way it was going to go. But at 8:25 this morning it was declared for Angie Bray, former Tory leader of the London Assembly, with 17,944 votes on a high turnout of 67%. Labour's Bassam Mahfouz came in second with 14,228 votes. Jon Ball of the Lib Dems came a close third with 13,041 votes. This represented a swing of 5% to the Tories.

Elsewhere, Steve Pound, in spite of a spirited campaign from Tory Ian Gibb, comfortably held Ealing North with 50% of the vote, and no swing to the Conservatives.

As expected, in Ealing Southall, Virendra Sharma held his safe Labour seat in spite of a heavy swing to the Tories of of 8.3%. He polled 22,024 votes with the Conservatives coming second with 12,733.

The council election vote is currently being counted.

UPDATE: for Council election results, click here