Posted 5:45 AM by Paul
Tom Watson Makes History


A couple of weeks ago Tony Blair finally announced what we had all been waiting for. We would only have to put up with his endless hectoring for one more year. This would be his last Labour Party Conference. HURRAH!

The move was prompted by a letter from Tom Watson MP. As a Junior of Defence Minister he wrote a letter saying that Blair's continued presence as Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister "was not in the best interests of the Labour Party or the UK" This would have had no effect at all had it not been for the fact that Tom is the epitome of party loyalty. He voted for the Iraq war had never rebelled and was even a Whip. . He then resigned his post and was followed by 5 junior ministers including the MP next door to Blair and Wayne David ex-Leader of Labour MEPs who I took round Managua on a trip to see the Sandinistas many years ago.

The game was up. Blair responded by saying that he was "going to sack Tom Watson in any case". This is a bit like a jilted boy saying that he didn’t care because he was going to pack his girlfriend up anyway as soon as they met at McDonalds on Tuesday night after youth club.

Tom is an old fiend who I worked with during the Red Wedge days. Both of us were convinced Militant had to be chucked out but both of us were still committed to something called Socialism.I texted him a supportive message which he found the time to respond to ( reply is confidential) and I felt a bit like the Woody Allen character Zelig who never really does anything but has a walk on part in important bits of History.

So I was pleased for Tom and pleased for the World. Blair would not hang on for ever and then full a fast one" Oh I was going to stand down but because of the present turmoil in the Labour Party, for the good of the country I will stay on and fight the next election on a platform of national unity."Two weeks later and Labour Party conference is under siege by tens of thousands of antiwar demonstrators. The New York Times has published a leaked report form the US Intelligence Services saying that the invasion of Iraq has increased terrorism and strengthened Al Quaida and the knowledgeable Defence correspondent of the Evening Standard was on radio agreeing with Tony Benn. The war was un-winnable unless we poured in thousands more men and billions of pounds and of course Bush had decided to invade Iraq in a "war of choice" before he was even elected and Blair went along with it.

But what will always perplex me is why did so many good, decent and intelligent Labour politicians like Tom go along with this madness when every cab driver in London seemed to know that no good would come of it. But with Blair gone. Aznar and Berluconi committed to the dustbin of History and Bush sinking fast maybe there is a way for the Labour Party to say

"Sorry we got it wrong."

If they do, my old friend Tom Watson should get some of the credit