It's Time To Move On, Tony
August 4, 2006 12:01 PM
In Stockport Express
In Stockport Express
It is hard to see what else could go wrong for the Government. Everything they touch breaks. Locally we haven't got enough dentists, the Chief Constable is forced to cut the number of police, and even the good news is botched, with Metrolink to go ahead - but only half way to the airport! Nationally their £20 billion NHS computer system doesn't work, they've had to abandon the merger of police forces because they got their sums wrong, and the Home Office is officially in melt-down. Not to mention John Prescott.
They are missing their targets on climate change, the Child Support Agency is in ruins, and Home Information Packs have had to be scrapped. Tax Benefits are a nightmare, homes are unaffordable, and the gap between rich and poor is at its widest for 50 years.
They've got big plans to 'modernise' everything and make it all better, of course. It's just that none of the plans will work. Watch out for the ID card fiasco coming soon, if you are still not sure.
The Government starves Stockport's hard-pressed public services whilst they waste squillions on big schemes in Whitehall, but that is surely as nothing compared to their bungling abroad.
Our ambassador in Iraq admits the situation there is on the verge of complete breakdown, and that it will take a decade to sort things out - if we are lucky. Events in the Lebanon and in Gaza are a terrible reminder of the warnings I and other Liberal Democrats gave when George Bush and Tony Blair launched their illegal invasion. The threat of international terrorism is indeed greater; the Middle East peace process has indeed been wrecked; and in Iraq there is little to celebrate, and much to fear.
And so we found Britain and the USA actively blocking an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon. To cap it, the Government not only allows arms to pass through British airports, but is caught conniving at illegal arms exports themselves.
Very conveniently this comes to light just as Parliament goes on recess. Convenient for Tony Blair, who thinks he can avoid the hard questions. Convenient for the Tory leader, too, who backed the Iraq invasion to the hilt. But not at all convenient if you are hiding in a basement in Lebanon, or live in a shanty town in Gaza, or face being blown up in a mosque in Baghdad.
It is a deeply shameful record, and an embarrassment to those of us who take a pride in Britain, and who want our country to set the standard for ethical international behaviour, not behave like a greedy kid at a party.
Tony Blair is fond of saying 'it is time to move on'. Yes, it is time he 'moved on', before he does any more damage to Britain and the world.
End
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