Labour members defect but told ‘good riddance’
Dozens of Labour party members in Margaret Beckett’s constituency have defected to the Liberal Democrats in protest at the government’s position on the recent Middle East crisis.
Lib Dem leader Menzies Campbell said the 37 defections from the foreign secretary’s Derby South constituency proved how “out of touch” her and Tony Blair’s position on Israel’s military action in southern Lebanon was.
“The Liberal Democrats were the first and only major party to call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” he said this afternoon.
“These defections in the foreign secretary’s own seat are significant. The government’s position on the Middle East and Iraq shows just how out of touch it is with many in its party and the majority of the general public.”
However, the Labour leader of Derby council welcomed the announcement, saying it was “good riddance to bad rubbish”, saying: “I’m bloody glad they’re going.”
Chris Williamson told politics.co.uk that the defections were “nothing to do with the Israel-Hizbullah conflict, or anything to do with foreign policy “, but were based entirely on local issues – primarily a long-standing disagreement with many Labour councillors.
And he defended Ms Beckett’s record, saying she was “desperate to secure a lasting peace [in Lebanon] – after all, she’s spent her life campaigning for peace”.
Today’s defectors include Labour party ward chairman Mohammed Rawail Peeno, two members of the Derby South Labour party general committee, Ali Shan and Abdul Majid, and county councillor Masood Akhta.
Mohammed Rawail Peeno, chairman of the Labour party in Derby’s Arboretum ward, added: “We could not remain in the Labour party after their mishandling of the Lebanon crisis.
“When Margaret Beckett refused to back a ceasefire and instead sided with George Bush it was the breaking point for us. New Labour have abandoned the beliefs that led me and thousands of others to join Labour in the first place.”
Labour’s east Midlands spokesman, Phil Dilks, said it was “disappointing” that so many activists had decided to leave the party.
He told politics.co.uk: “It is important that the foreign secretary and the prime minister continue to work hard on a sustainable ceasefire in Lebanon and that is what Labour party members want and will unite around.”
