+Former Tory minister Sir Alan Duncan is to be investigated by the party for comments he made about Tory Lords Pickles and Polak, in which it is suggested he accused them of having split loyalties—to Israel as well as to the UK. The Independent quotes a Tory party spokesperson saying that Duncan will be investigated and that could lead to his expulsion, a process which could take about ‘two weeks.’ Amazing. In the Labour Party such things usually take about two years. Ask Diane Abbott. How times have changed. I don’t recall Norman Tebbitt being investigated for his comments about which cricket team migrants to the UK might support. But Duncan’s comments were more about the lobbying power of certain pro-Israeli groups than about racism. And whatever the outcome of his ‘investigation’ Lord Pickles will remain a repellent person (in my opinion).
+ … . ‘it is certain that the workers of all countries likely to be drawn into the conflict must strain every nerve to prevent their governments from committing them to war. Everywhere socialists and the organised forces of labour are taking this course. Everywhere vehement protests are made against the greed and intrigues of militarists and armament-mongers. We call upon you to do the same here in Great Britain upon an even more impressive scale. Hold vast demonstrations against war in every industrial centre.’ * Those were the days! Keir talking sense—Hardie that is, not Starmer. Had this call been successful, and had the First World War been avoided, it seems likely there would have been no second, no holocaust, etc. This is just supposition of course. But that route wasn’t followed, just as now calls for peace are largely ignored whilst the share price of arms manufacturers rocket. Yes, there will always be bad actors (Putin for example) but to what extent I wonder are bad actors encouraged by our inability to escape the medieval mindset of possessive aggression or our mere anticipation of it? *Keir Hardie and Arthur Henderson, 1st August 1914, quoted in Not Our War, Writings Against the First World War, Ed. AW Zurbrugg, Merlin, 2014 p.138
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