Corbyn defies calls to shun Stop the War dinner
 

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has addressed a fundraising dinner for the Stop the War coalition, despite calls from some of his MPs not to attend.

Mr Corbyn said the group was a "vital force" and "one of the most important democratic campaigns of modern times", which had brought "hundreds of thousands of people" to protests.

Campaigner Andrew Murray is replacing Mr Corbyn as Stop the War chairman.

He described the Labour leader as part of the campaign's backbone.
Mr Murray, a trade unionist and journalist who previously chaired Stop the War for 10 years, said the quarter of a million people who had voted for Mr Corbyn to lead Labour "did so because of his stand against war, not in spite of it".

He said: "This unity between a mass campaigning movement and the leadership of the Labour Party clearly makes some uncomfortable.
"Their new year's resolution needs to be to get used to it."

Mr Corbyn, who has been a leading member of the Stop the War coalition since it was founded, used his speech to praise its campaigns against military interventions.

"It has been shown to be right in opposing more than a decade of disastrous wars - in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya - while many of its most vociferous critics supported them," he said.

Senior Labour figures, including MPs Caroline Flint and Tristram Hunt, had urged Mr Corbyn to shun Friday's event over a controversial blog Stop the War posted after the Paris attacks.

Green MP Caroline Lucas has also resigned as a patron of Stop the War, citing concerns about the positions it has adopted.

A tweet and article published in the wake of the attacks on Paris last month suggested France had "reaped the whirlwind" of Western support for extremist violence in the Middle East.

Both were later removed and disowned by the organisation's leaders, but critics have highlighted another article last week which argued jihadists were driven by a "spirit of internationalism and solidarity" akin to the International Brigades that fought in the Spanish Civil War.

'Long-standing association'
Former Labour leader Ed Miliband told BBC Newsnight he would not "commentate on what organisations Jeremy Corbyn chooses to be member of".

"He's got a long-standing association with this organisation, he's got a long-standing opposition to different types of intervention," said Mr Miliband. "He spoke on this in the Syria debate.

"I think our party's focus should be on taking the fight to the Tories and working out the ideas that are going to win us the next general election, not Jeremy Corbyn's political engagements."

Shadow culture secretary Michael Dugher said the Labour leader should use Friday's dinner to "have a word" with the organisers.

In an interview with The House magazine, Mr Dugher said many Stop the War activists thought "the wrong people won the Cold War" and that the dinner was a chance to deliver a message.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35069929

Mr Dugher said many Stop the War activists thought "the wrong people won the Cold War"

:facepalm:

I don't agree necessarily woth corbyns stance but I do commend him sticking to his principles in the face of adversity

If he hadn't gone, he would have criticised by some and murdered in the media for abandoning his principles.

Some miserable Labour MPs who are peeved because the party elected someone they didn't want as leader manage to get the headlines and are making most noise.

The likes of Tristram Hunt,who teased about joining the leadership race earlier in the year then cowardly backed off.
I think it's time Tristram Hunt for one, crossed the floor into what was his Cousin's Virginia Bottomley's party, the Conservatives, because he is almost single handedly doing the Conservatives work against Labour for them.

Many Labour MPs voted against their leader's wishes to bomb Syria. He's going to a peace rally... and he's the defiant bad one?

He needs to distance himself from those jokers and start trying to establish himself as a serious leader who can make the important decisions that matter.

I don't see a problem with Mr. Corbyn going to the dinner.
He has been at the front of the organisation for years and it would appear rather churlish not to.
As long as he speaks out against the more ridiculous thngs that they spout about then again I have no problem.
My only problem is that I really feel that being such a high profile member of the group and being leader of the opposition, whom could one day be PM, smacks of conflict of nterest.
Mr Corbyn has his deep seated beliefs in avoiding war at all cost whereas the leader of any country has to be prepared to go to war to defend its people.:shrug:

Stop the War are a disgrace

I'd say this whole bunch of twats are worse, clapping, smiling and cheering about bombing a country



Corbyn's stance on war is refreshing, Afghanistan and Iraq achived nothing, it only helped ISIS rise in power. On top of that, it lead to the death and pyschological damage of thousands of young British soldiers, and what was it for in the end? What did we actually achive over there? Syria is just a rerun of Iraq. War brings war.

we all know who and what Corbyn is, let's stop pretending to be shocked.

drop the faux outrage that he is an extremist, it's clear he is a far left extremist. do we really need a new news story about how far left he is every single week until he loses his leadership?

Milliband was such a pathetic little weasel he basically destroyed the Labour party. (well actually blair did, by being bestie with W Bush) but Corbyn is definitely not to blame.

When is Labour going to find a proper leader that will actually give them a shot at retaking a majority? not any time soon if they keep with Corbyn.

We all know that labour can never win a general election with Corbyn.

Who is the true new Labour leader? that will be interesting to see.

:clap: :clap: Which is why medals were thrown at no 10 the other day.

British war veterans have thrown away their medals outside Downing Street in protest against the Government's decision to bomb Syria and to bust the “mythology” of heroism connected to the military.

Ex SAS soldier Ben Griffin, who led the Veterans for Peace protest on Tuesday, told The Independent that although difficult, discarding their medals was an important gesture to discourage future generations from aspiring to win war medals.

He had already binned his medal in the summer but joined the protest to discard an award of a disabled veteran who was unable to attend.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a6765446.html

And what about the gigantic majority of ex-Servicemen who DID NOT throw their medals at no. 10? What do we make of that fact?

Let's not get excited.Most ex service men are proud to have served their country.When you go looking at little organisations called 'Veterans for peace' then it's pretty obvious that the people you're gonna find in there are anti war no matter the situation we're facing and are a small minority.

^This
They recently held a meeting chaired by Diane Abbott where they were discussing Syria and they refused to let the actual Syrian people in the room contribute because they are IN FAVOUR of action being taken.These poor Syrians who's opinions should be taken into consideration more than a few English pacifists were shut down and not allowed to speak.The reason they were not allowed to speak?Because they had opposing views to the 'Stop The War Coalition'.It's the Syrians that we should be listening to,Not this bunch of muppets.
The current leader of 'Stop The War' is also a member of 'The Communist Party of Britain'.

:clap1::clap1::clap1:

MTVN and YOU are so correct. Stop The War is nothing but a subversive anti-British nest of vipers and traitors.

Its membership list and those pariahs it attracts and who support it speaks volumes.

Syria is different to Iraq though, we can't afford to have our foreign policy forever constrained by the mistakes of the past or go through this traumatic period of soul searching and introspection while the world burns.

Yeah the 'Stop the War' name is actually pretty misleading. They're not against the war, they're just against whatever the latest anti-Western cause is. Some of their positions over the last few years:

All of that is linked and sourced on the website if anyone wants more detail on it

:clap1:
Yeah i've read some of these quotes.They don't actually want to 'Stop The War' just to support any anti western regimes or organisation.The word 'traitor' is very apt for this group imo.

:thumbs:

I can agree with that very fair post Nana,(nice to even in fun called someone Nana :laugh:,as I now have no Grandparents).

A fair expectation of any would be PM, I doubt really any PM really wanted to go to war when they did.
Even Tony Blair,who I have not the slightest bit of time for,I believe his desperation was to at all costs support Bush jnr in his determined aim to finish the job his Father wanted to as to Iraq.

I do think it could be fairly seen as a conflict of interest,as you say Smudgie, nearer the general election if Corbyn remains as active in the campaigns of stop the war.
No way should he have to alter his true and long held principles but he will need to be a little more compromising further as time goes on.
As he showed he can be with the free vote on the action in Syria,more of that and more respect can be won from more of his party if he does.

A long way to go to 2020, for me unfortunately, then again not unfortunately really, that would be just wishing my life away almost.

They were proud to serve... these people have had first hand experience of the mismanagement and have a better insight than the average joe where the errors lie.

They do indeed Kizzy and made their views known as to it too,very strongly.
Their action will be dismissed as irrelevant because they are against it however.

While the world burns, What are the rest of the world doing, all sat braiding their hair waiting for Britain to come riding on a white charger?
I'm very surprised to see this 'anti western' accusation, is discussion and debate as to the rights and wrongs of a govt or decisions taken not acceptable now.. Have we become so autocratic that any questioning is perceived as traitorous?

Well I wouldn't use the word traitor but I do think anti-western is a pretty fair label for Stop the War and a certain strand of the UK left

I doubt that this war will end with Britain being safer.

Totally agree with this.
I think years from now we will look back at this with a lot of guilt and much regret, but I don't think that will happen before we've also turned Iran into ashes.