Sir, – The findings of the Chilcot report should give further food for thought for those who deride the leadership qualities of the current UK Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
The decision by Tony Blair, supported by the right-wing New Labour faction that survives to this day in the parliamentary Labour Party, to go to war was truly at odds with the overwhelming majority sentiment among Labour voters in Britain at the time, as was evidenced by the scale of the anti-war movement. That disconnect between a political elite and ordinary people was again demonstrated in the recent Brexit vote.
By contrast, Jeremy Corbyn stood out as one of a small minority of Labour MPs who vocally and actively opposed the Iraq war, in tune with Labour voters, and his leadership campaign last year connected with a huge segment of working people and youth yearning for a genuinely left and anti-austerity movement, and who flooded into the Blairised party, transforming its character and propelling Jeremy Corbyn into the leadership against the odds.
The thoroughly disgraceful attempt to undermine his leadership by the right-wing Blairite majority of the parliamentary party, in concert with a large section of the broadcast and print media, has provoked a further intake of tens of thousands of members into Labour and seen outdoor rallies of similar numbers take place in support of Jeremy Corbyn across Britain, as well as in Belfast.
It is to the great credit of Jeremy Corbyn and his allies that this coup has so far been averted. The Blair wing of MPs, against the wishes of their local Labour Party organisations, has demonstrated that it remains totally unreconciled to his leadership and his politics and that it is at odds with the majority of the rank-and-file membership.
The question of mandatory reselection of these careerists and their replacement from the ranks of people dedicated to socialist policies is now unavoidable, as is the inevitable and necessary split that will provoke.
This poses the possibility of a major positive realignment of British politics and the rebuilding of what could quickly become the biggest socialist force in western Europe, providing an impetus to the building of a new party of the working class here in Ireland.
It is our sincere hope that this uncompromising road towards the thoroughly discredited Blairites is taken. We hope an inclusive conference of the labour movement is convened that brings in the important strand of revolutionary socialists in Britain, who have been unable to participate in the Labour Party in its Blairised state, to further aid the defence of Jeremy Corbyn and contribute toward the building of a party that will champion the fight against austerity. – Yours, etc,
RUTH COPPINGER TD,
PAUL MURPHY TD,
MICK BARRY TD,
Anti-Austerity Alliance,
Leinster House, Dublin 2.