[Mb-civic] CBC News - VETERAN MP DEFECTS FROM TONY BLAIR'S PARTY

Tue Apr 26 16:19:54 PDT 2005

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VETERAN MP DEFECTS FROM TONY BLAIR'S PARTY
WebPosted Tue Apr 26 07:02:21 2005

london---A longtime backbencher from British Prime Minister Tony Blair's
Labour party defected to a rival party Tuesday, saying he timed his
announcement to do maximum damage to Blair's campaign.

Brian Sedgemore, a maverick member of Parliament who has voted against
Blair on a number of issues, joined the anti-war Liberal Democrats.

 FROM APRIL 5, 2005: Tony Blair calls May 5 vote

"I urge everyone from the centre and left of British politics to give
Blair a bloody nose at the election," said Sedgemore, who's been a Labour
politician for 27 years.

Blair's Labour party is holding a considerable lead in most national
polls heading into the May 5 vote. A victory would make Blair the first
Labour leader to win three consecutive terms.

The Liberal Democrats are trying to make British participation in the
Iraqi war an election issue, tapping into the simmering resentment many
voters still feel about Blair's decision to support U.S. President
George W. Bush.

"The stomach-turning lies on Iraq were followed by the attempt to use the
politics of fear to drive through Parliament a deeply authoritarian set
of law and order measures," said Sedgemore.

While the 68-year-old, left-leaning veteran isn't running in this
election, opposition groups have seized on his move as a chance to bring
the war back into the spotlight.

The rival Conservative party called the prime minister a liar after
newspaper reports suggested Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith had
warned the government in 2003 that invading Iraq would be illegal.

Blair, during a campaign stop at a school on Tuesday, dismissed
Sedgemore's defection.

"We're having a debate about someone who's not even standing as a
candidate in the election rather than a debate about who is best for the
education future of the country," said Blair.